


Trusting Instinct

by Florville



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pokemon GO
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Cute, Dominance, Light Bondage, M/M, Oral Sex, Rimming, Seduction, Submission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:00:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24415549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florville/pseuds/Florville
Summary: “I can’t,” Spark said softly, but even as the words left his lips, he knew they weren’t true.  He’d already lost the battle.  Kukui had seen right through to the heart of him, and his only options now were to surrender, or to run away…and Spark wasn’t the running type.
Relationships: Professor Kukui/Spark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set during the time period where the Alolan forms of Pokémon were being introduced into the Pokémon Go game.
> 
> Now that that has been clarified, I’ll say that there are a few things I’m gonna blame (lovingly, of course) for this fic (which was SUPPOSED to be a quick one shot, and then I got super inspired). The first thing I’m blaming is Sun & Moon for having such a hands-down hottie running around the show with no shirt on under his lab coat. The second is a couple of excellent Willow/Spark fics by Lady_Talla_Doe and meinposhbastard, which only fueled my desire to see more Spark fic out there in the world. So out of a desire to see some more of these two hunks, and in the wake of some inspiring fanfics and fanart, this story was born. I hope you like it. And yes...a sequel is currently in the works.

It had been about two weeks since the first unusual Pokémon had started coming in with the trainers, and Professor Willow hadn’t missed a beat on organizing an emergency conference to address the issue. Whatever had brought these strange creatures their way, it didn’t look like it was going away any time soon, and the Go crew were better off getting ahead of things while it was still possible. Right now, they needed to learn as much as they could about the new arrivals, so that they could help their trainers to appraise and work with their unusual new ‘mons.

All three of the Go Team Leaders had been ordered to attend the conference, which was, of course, the only reason why Spark was here. Normally, he wouldn’t be caught dead at one of these stuffy academic shindigs (despite harboring a somewhat-more-than-minor crush on Professor Willow), because they bored him to tears. It wasn’t like he was dumb or anything…far from it. It took a lot of quick thinking to be a Team Leader, and that meant being able to weigh the odds at the drop of a hat, and do moment-to-moment calculations in the heat of a battle. And Spark was excellent at all of that…he just wasn’t into the “science-y” side of Pokémon battling. Charts and analyses were great for Pokémon researchers, but experience and going with his gut were what had served Spark well in the field, and so far, that’s what he trusted. 

As Professor Willow took the podium and gave some opening remarks, Spark fiddled with the edge of his sleeveless yellow hoodie, then leaned forward to rest his chin on one orange-gloved hand. As much as he hated being without his leather jacket (since it made him look like a total badass), the conference organizers kept it way too hot in these stupid rooms. Plus, he was already walking the edge of a very sweaty precipice today by refusing to trade out his leather pants for regular jeans.

Spark did his best to focus on what the Professor was saying, but the minute the opening remarks melted into a formal acknowledgement of the historic bonds between the different Pokémon schools and the importance of recent advances in Pokémon science, his brain checked out. He couldn’t help it…none of this gobbledygook was going to help him coach the trainers under his wing, and no amount of loyalty (or attraction) to Willow was going to override the boredom switch that the Professor had just flipped.

Groaning softly under his breath, Spark straightened and fiddled with the pocket of his hoodie, valiantly resisting the urge to push his rolling chair back from the table and spin around on it. A subtle glance to his left confirmed that Blanche wasn’t having any problems paying attention, but that wasn’t surprising…the stoic Team Mystic leader lived for this eggheaded kind of stuff. A glance to Spark’s right revealed that Candela, despite being just as bored as he was, was somehow doing a great job at faking her interest.

Threading his gloved fingers together on top of the table, Spark let out a heavy sigh and kept his eyes on Professor Willow as his mind wandered. It wasn’t until a round of applause jolted him back to himself that Spark realised he’d zoned out completely. And apparently he’d just daydreamed his way through the entirety of the Professor’s opening remarks, because Willow was currently motioning for another speaker to take the podium.

Spark’s blue-eyed gaze shifted to the Professor who was currently approaching the front of the room, one golden brow quirking upwards slightly when a glance down from the stranger’s lab-coated back revealed calf-length jogging sweatpants and a pair of crocs. And wait, was that a _bun_ underneath the edge of that white baseball cap? Spark snickered and shook his head, amused at how the tendency to be a brilliant Pokémon Professor often went hand-in-hand with having absolutely no fashion sense.

Or at least, that’s what Spark _was_ thinking, until the guy took the podium and he got his first good look at the front of him. Holy hell, that guy was a _professor?!_

Unaware that he’d leaned forward in his seat, Spark let his eyes roam the solid, tanned chest peeking out from between the spread lapels of the guy’s lab coat, then flicked his gaze upwards to trace the line of his jaw. Whoever this guy was, he was a total babe, and his voice was like a non-stop playlist of pure auditory foreplay. Man, if he’d had teachers this hot when he’d been in school, he might’ve paid a lot more attention. Speaking of which…

Leaning to his left, Spark elbowed Blanche lightly, speaking under his breath. “Wait, I missed that guy’s name, who is he?” 

Shooting him a harsh glare, Blanche hissed at him. “Professor Kukui. He’s an expert researcher from the Alolan Islands, so be quiet and pay attention.”

Pouting a little, Spark straightened again, eyes settling on the finely-groomed patch of hair on the Alolan Professor’s chin. He was already imagining how it would feel against his skin, and the tip of his tongue subconsciously darted out to glide over his lower lip as he slipped into a particularly steamy fantasy. A moment later, a sharp kick to his shin jerked him out of his lustful haze, and he shot Candela an irritated glare.

_Don’t even think about it,_ came the mouthed challenge, the sly grin on Candela’s lips clear evidence that she was now his current rival in the “let’s bone the guest speaker” competition. Spark grinned right back, one brow arching in that way that he knew drove women crazy. Eyes narrowing slightly, he mouthed the word _threesome?,_ only to fake another pout when Candela kept grinning and shook her head. Damn it, why did she have to be so freaking territorial??

Huffing, Spark turned his attention back to the strangely hot Professor Kukui, who had just pulled up his presentation on the screen at the front of the room. The blonde Team Leader’s eyes narrowed as they ran over the first slide, which had images of all the strange Pokémon they’d been getting from trainers in the past two weeks…plus a few more. 

Now that the guest speaker’s slideshow was set up and he was taking a moment to introduce himself, Spark’s gaze shifted from the screen to fix momentarily on Professor Kukui’s face. For a split second their eyes locked, and in that moment, it felt like time had suddenly frozen. A hint of a smile pulled at the left corner of Kukui’s mouth, and one dark chocolate brow rose ever-so-slightly above the rim of his safety glasses, as if to ask Spark directly, “are you planning on paying attention?”

Shocked at his body’s immediate and enthusiastic response to _that_ particular gesture, Spark swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly having gone dry. That one little brow twitch had just put him in his place like he was a stupid, bratty teenager. Why the hell did that turn him on?

Taking the non-verbal cue as an open challenge, Spark turned his attention back to the screen, listening intently as the Professor spoke. And much to his surprise, he realised that the Alolan native was actually a really good speaker. He didn’t use fancy terms, and he didn’t cram complicated scientific data and statistics into his slides…instead, he talked to the room like he was just another Trainer. And that approach held Spark’s attention so thoroughly that when the lights came back up an hour later, he was startled to see how much time had passed.

The moment the conference wrapped, Spark beelined it for Professor Willow, putting on his best serious expression as he prepared to initiate a failsafe cock-block maneuver. Making up some vaguely relevant bullshit about Candela’s recent successes in preparing her trainers for the introduction of Trainer vs. Trainer battles, Spark stepped back and watched as the enthusiastic Willow surged forward to congratulate the Team Valor leader on her accomplishments.

As soon as the Professor had intercepted his romantic rival, Spark made his move, weaving stealthily through the gathering of lab-coated researchers in pursuit of his quarry. With the silence of a Persian, he stalked towards the attractive Kukui, who had just deposited his empty coffee cup in a trash can near the conference room doors. Emerging from behind a passing gaggle of researchers, Spark immediately positioned himself so that he was in front of the Alolan scholar, extending a gloved hand to rest against the wall right next to Kukui’s head as he leaned directly into the Professor’s personal space. Spark’s ocean blue eyes were dark with desire, a confident grin curving his lips as he lowered his voice so that only Kukui would hear him. “I want you,” he stated bluntly, giving the Professor’s bare chest and washboard abs a quick scan before flicking his gaze up to meet the man’s eyes again.

“I noticed,” the Professor replied smoothly, a half-grin curving his lips as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his labcoat. Tilting his chin up just slightly, Kukui leaned back against the wall, obviously perfectly at ease despite Spark’s proximity.

That…was not the reaction he’d expected. The Professor’s easy response caught him completely off guard, and he blinked for a moment, stumbling on what to say next. Which…well, to be honest, _never_ happened. Spark was a seasoned veteran when it came to flirting, and this guy had just tripped him up like he was a prepubescent schoolboy. 

“Pretty sure your friends noticed, too,” Kukui continued, his tone of voice edged with a mild hint of displeasure, although the sly grin remained on his face. “To be honest, I was expecting the Team Leaders of the Pokémon Go League to take my presentation a lot more seriously, given your current situation.”

Spark’s eyes narrowed sharply in response to the criticism, the muscles in his bare forearm shifting slightly as he leaned forward a little more. “Alolan Persian, dark type. Has normal, dark, and fairy attacks. Alolan Muk, dark and poison type. Quick attacks include Snarl and Poison Jab. Alolan Graveller, rock and electric type, common attacks are Volt Switch and Rock Blast. Alolan Sandslash, steel type. Frequently uses the Gyro Ball attack. Alolan Exeggutor, grass and dragon type. Common attacks are Bullet Seed and Dragon Pulse. You want me to keep going?”

For a split second, genuine surprise showed through in Professor Kukui’s expression, but it was quickly replaced by his previous easy smile. “Well done,” he praised softly, his gaze trailing over Spark’s body as if he’d suddenly decided that the Team Leader was worth his interest. “Although the Alolan Sandslash isn’t just steel type, it’s ice type as well.” His dark eyes returned to Spark’s face, an utterly infuriating flicker of amusement dancing in the rich chocolate depths. “Your trainers are going to need that information, so it’s pretty important that you get it right.”

Spark bristled at the words, his gloved fist tightening against the wall as his already aroused body responded eagerly to the Professor’s taunt. Again, this weirdly buff egghead had put him in his place in the span of a heartbeat, and again, it had sent heat surging through his veins with the force of a Discharge attack. He’d never been this attracted to another human being, and his desire to drag the guy upstairs to his hotel room and do nasty things to his body until they both collapsed was starting to wear through the remaining strands of his self-control. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” he stated plainly.

“I’m sure,” Kukui mused, still smiling enigmatically as he lounged against the wall. “But I’ve met a _lot_ of people like you. Usually they’re the ones stirring up trouble in the back row of my classroom at the Pokémon School.”

Taken aback at the comment, Spark blinked, then narrowed his eyes and cursed softly. If he’d been a Meowth, his hackles would’ve risen with the force of his frustration. He didn’t get it… _why_ wasn’t this guy giving in to his seductive charms? And how was Mr. Alolan Egghead getting under his skin with such simple, snarky little comments? Normally Spark would’ve had a flirty comeback on deck and delivered by now, but all he could do was stand there like an idiot and clench his teeth as his brain refused to give up the goods. What the hell was wrong with him?

At that moment, the sound of a throat clearing behind him made Spark jump, and he jerked away from the wall as if he’d been burned. The Team Leader’s cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment when he saw Professor Willow standing close behind him with one salt-and-pepper brow raised.

“Spark, Professor Kukui and I have reservations at a nearby restaurant for four o’clock, so I’m afraid you’ll have to cut this conversation short.” Willow’s gaze flicked to their guest speaker, who was still lounging against the wall, completely at ease. “Unless, of course, the subject matter was of grave importance?”

A muscle in Spark’s jaw ticked as he exhaled softly, shaking his head. “No, Sir,” he replied curtly. “Professor Kukui was just going over the importance of understanding the differences between regular and Alolan types of Pokémon.” Clear blue eyes snapped over to meet Kukui’s brown ones, and the Team Leader’s tone of voice was noticeably pointed. “For the benefit of my team and its Trainers.”

A flicker of amusement danced through the Alolan scholar’s eyes for a split second, as fleeting as the flash of a midsummer lightning strike. And the sight of it heated Spark’s blood all over again.

Completely missing the non-verbal exchange between the two men, Professor Willow exhaled a sigh of relief and offered up a pleased smile. “Oh, good. Well, it makes me happy to hear that you’re taking your role as Team Leader so seriously, Spark.” Turning to Kukui again, Willow motioned towards the elevators that would take them down to the lobby. “In that case, Professor Kukui, shall we go and grab a bite to eat?”

“Absolutely,” the brunette replied, not even sparing a glance in Spark’s direction as he pulled away from the wall to accompany his host, leaving the leader of Team Instinct standing there in the hallway with a million questions in his head and a hard-on in his pants.


	2. Chapter 2

Upon returning to his hotel room later that evening, Professor Kukui wasn’t terribly surprised to see the Team Instinct Leader leaning against the wall by his door, pretending to be absorbed in something on his cell phone. 

“Alola, Team Leader Spark,” he acknowledged politely, pulling his key card out of the hip pocket of his lab coat. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Looking up from his phone as though he hadn’t noticed the handsome scholar’s approach, Spark smirked and slid the device into the front pocket of his sleeveless hoodie, shrugging one bare shoulder noncommittally. “Meh, I was bored,” he lied, lifting one knee slightly and resting his heel against the wall behind him, in that well-practiced way that made his leather pants tighten appealingly around his upper leg. “Figured we could continue our conversation from earlier.”

“That was a conversation?” Kukui retorted playfully, mirth gleaming in his coffee-coloured eyes. “I was under the impression that you were attempting to seduce me and failing horribly.”

Spark laughed and spread his hands, grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, sometimes people don’t see reason at first, and you just gotta convince them of the error of their ways.”

“That’s not a conversation, Spark. That sounds more like a debate, and it’s one that I _really_ don’t think you’re capable of winning.” Sliding his key card into the slot on the door, Kukui quickly tugged it out, pushing the door open with one hand.

“Yeah, since you obviously know _so_ much about my capabilities,” Spark growled, his expression turning stormy. “Pretty impressive how you’ve got me pegged, seeing as how you’ve barely said two words to me since we met.”

The intensity in Spark’s electric blue eyes gave the Alolan Professor pause, and he stopped to consider what the younger man had just said. Standing in the open doorway, Kukui weighed the pros and cons of inviting the Team Leader into his hotel room to continue their exchange. In truth, there was a part of him that enjoyed antagonizing the spirited blonde, and he was genuinely intrigued by Spark’s stubborn refusal to give up in the face of adversity. Moreover, Spark had impressed him earlier with his quick uptake of the information he’d presented at the conference. And while he hadn’t been terribly fond of the young man’s behaviour, the fact that Spark was one of Willow’s Team Leaders _was_ a testament to his abilities and his work ethic. It reminded Kukui of a promising young student he’d once taught, back at the school on Melemele Island.

Making up his mind, Kukui turned and pressed his shoulder to the hotel room door, taking a few steps backwards to guide it open and motioning with one arm for Spark to follow him inside. “Based on my discussions with Professor Willow, I know that you have the smallest of the three teams in the Go League, but instead of discouraging you, it’s only made you more devoted to all of the Trainers and Pokémon in your care,” he began, watching the young man carefully as he stepped inside. “I know that you have extensive experience with eggs and the ways that they hatch, and that your experience with training electric-type Pokémon is almost unrivaled.” Closing the door, Kukui leaned back against it and crossed his arms over his bare chest, gazing intently at Spark through the clear lenses of his safety glasses. “And I know that you’re very loyal to Professor Willow. You’ve devoted yourself fully to helping him with his research, and based on the trust that he’s obviously placed in you, I’m guessing that you must be pretty reliable.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I’ll admit, those are all pretty admirable qualities.”

Standing there with his gloved hands shoved into the front pocket of his hoodie, Spark stared at the dark-haired Professor for a long moment, then relaxed a little, the kind words having soothed his ruffled feathers. A wry smile curved his lips as he reached up and ran a gloved hand through the shaggy blonde spikes of his hair, a grating chuckle escaping his throat. “Okay…so maybe you know a bit more about me than I gave you credit for,” he mused, his confident aura returning in full force. “But since you know all of that, what’s got you pumping the brakes on jumping in the sack with me?”

The Professor rolled his eyes at the crudely worded question, pushing away from the door and walking into the kitchenette. Tossing his wallet and his thumb drive onto the counter, Kukui grabbed the carafe, filling it with water so that he could brew a cup of coffee. “At this point, I don’t really feel the need to dignify that question with a response,” he muttered, pouring the water into the back of the small coffee maker and slipping one of the small white filters into the top portion. 

“Oh, come on,” Spark teased, grinning from ear to ear as he walked over to the kitchenette, leaning against the opposite side of the island from where the Professor was. “Now I’m starting to think you don’t even _have_ a reason.”

“Believe me, I have a reason,” Kukui returned flatly, tearing open a packet of coffee grounds and emptying it into the filter in the upper portion of the coffee maker. Snapping the lid shut, he flipped the switch, waiting for a few seconds to make sure the machine was brewing before turning to face his eager-eyed young guest.

“Uh-huh,” Spark mused, leaning his chin on one orange-gloved hand for a moment as he gave the Prof a slow and blatantly obvious once-over. “Reasons…”

Pursing his lips slightly, the Professor remained where he was, allowing the youth to visually appreciate the well-toned set of abs that he admittedly took great pride in. Even though he was giving the Trainer a hard time right now, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t enjoying the attention. Due to the nature of his work at the school and his lab on the island, Kukui didn’t often get the chance to flirt or be flirted with…so even Spark’s raw and overconfident advances were a refreshing change. Plus, the blonde Team Leader _was_ pretty easy on the eyes.

Drawing a deep breath, Kukui let it out slowly, eventually turning around when he realised that his coffee had finished brewing. “You have a lot of excellent qualities, Spark,” Kukui confessed, turning off the machine and pouring the contents of the carafe into a nearby mug. “But frankly, there’s a wildness to you that I find really off-putting.”

“Oh?” Spark quipped, grinning coyly at the attractive scholar. “That’s pretty unexpected. You’re a guy who’s constantly studying wild Pokémon, so I would’ve thought that wildness is a quality you’d appreciate,” the blonde joked, his blue eyes sparkling suggestively. 

“There are rare times when wildness is a great quality,” Kukui returned flatly, retrieving a spoon from one of the nearby drawers. “But most of the time, without some degree of discipline, it’s useless.” 

“Mmm, so you want me to be more disciplined, is that it?” 

Rolling his eyes heavenward as he ignored the deliberately suggestive comment, Kukui dropped a sugar cube and a packet of creamer into his mug, stirring it carefully into the dark liquid and then lifting the mug to his lips to take a sip. Holding the coffee in his mouth for a moment, he savoured it before swallowing, lowering his mug as he turned around and fixed the young blonde with an intent stare. “As a Trainer, I’d think you’d be pretty well acquainted with what I’m trying to say here. Without direction, the power of a wild animal can be ineffective at best, and at its worst, it can be really destructive. Didn’t you learn that when you were in the field?”

Taken off guard by the Professor’s surprisingly serious response, Spark straightened, his brow furrowing slightly as he recalled something that he’d witnessed in his first few months as a Trainer. Having just turned ten, he’d been en route to the Vermilion City Gym with his new Pokémon license when he’d witnessed a boundary dispute between two neighbouring packs of wild Pikachu…and it had gotten really, really ugly. The little creatures had fought with fierce tenacity, but their attacks had been driven by raw emotion—mostly fear, mixed in with a feral desire for dominance. That alone had turned their battle into an uncoordinated free-for-all that had left a two-mile radius of destruction in its wake, and many of the Pikachu had been unnecessarily injured in the fracas. Even as a fledgling Trainer, Spark had lamented how wasteful that battle had been, despite the impressive electrical attacks that some of the older creatures had been able to use. 

But wait…was that how Kukui saw _him?_ Wild and destructive? Shit…if that was the case, he probably wasn’t going to get laid tonight. Maybe he should tag out and let Candela have a shot at the guy…not that she’d take it, mind you. She was too proud to go for his sloppy seconds.

“I guess I never thought of myself that way,” Spark eventually conceded, pushing away from where he’d been leaning on the island, doing his best to conceal any evidence of the bruise his ego had just taken. Just like the Professor’s earlier talk at the conference, the guy had a way of speaking that made it feel like it was a Trainer-to-Trainer discussion, and just like his earlier talk, it had gotten through to him in a way that he hadn’t anticipated. Only this time, he wasn’t quite sure how to use what he’d learned in a way that could help Team Instinct.

Sensing that he’d finally broken through Spark’s wall of nonchalance, Kukui quickly stepped in to soothe the hurt that his words had undoubtedly caused. “Spark…please believe me when I say that my criticism shouldn’t be taken as a lack of interest on my part. You’re a _very_ attractive young man, and I do want to have sex with you. I just don’t appreciate your approach.”

Spark’s eyes snapped back to Kukui’s face at the blunt admission, his expression curious as he scrutinized the older male. “My approach?” 

“When you came up to me after the conference, you muscled into my personal space like you were the alpha dog in a Lycanroc pack,” Kukui explained curtly as he took another sip of his coffee, displeasure evident in his tone of voice. “And I don’t appreciate that kind of behaviour.”

Spark flinched at the abrupt admonishment, a hint of colour creeping into his cheeks as he averted his gaze and reached up to rub sheepishly at the nape of his neck. “Oh.” 

“And let me be clear when I say this to you, Spark: you are _not_ the alpha here,” Kukui elaborated, his eyes narrowed intently on the younger man. “Do you understand?”

Slowly, the blonde Team Leader lifted his head, his cerulean eyes trailing up to meet Kukui’s dark brown ones. It took a good, solid minute for the Alolan’s words to sink in, and when they finally did, Spark’s brain backfired for a split second before launching into overdrive. Oh…shit. Spark swallowed hard as his arousal, which had calmed considerably during the past few minutes of their conversation, suddenly surged back into his body with renewed intensity. 

“I, uh…didn’t realise,” Spark stammered, his nervousness at the unexpected situation quite clear in his expression. He’d been the top in the majority of his previous encounters, so he’d come to expect it as a rule. And while he was _definitely_ open to the idea of bottoming for a guy as hot as Kukui, that didn’t mean that it had come as any less of a surprise.

For a long moment, Kukui gazed at him intently, finally letting out a low sigh and muttering “…well, that’s a start.” His posture relaxed as he took another sip of his coffee, although the expression on his face made it clear that he’d expected something more. 

Spurred on when he realised that he’d fallen short of the mark, Spark took a step towards the Professor, his expression almost desperately serious as he tried again. “What I mean is…I’m sorry,” he said clearly, hoping that the Professor would notice that he was being sincere. Kukui was right…as the leader of Team Instinct, he was constantly working hard to be the kind of person that people would admire and respect, and this situation was no exception.

“Are you?” the Professor mused, one brow rising slightly as he gave the younger man a dubious look.

Cheeks heating a little more at the inquiry, Spark nodded, his expression growing more determined. “Yes. Based on what you just said…the, uh…the way I acted was pretty disrespectful. And…” He winced a little, feeling about as awkward as his apology had sounded. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to think badly of me.”

Kukui considered the blonde Team Leader carefully for a long moment, his expression serious as he waited for the young man to follow up the apology with a joke or some kind of off-colour remark. 

Spark stood firm under the Professor’s measuring gaze, his jaw set as he waited to see what Kukui would say when he finally spoke. He was pretty sure that this had all been some kind of test…but whether he’d passed it or not wasn’t entirely clear.

The silence was eventually broken by a soft chuckle, and the Alolan scholar lowered his head slightly, his free hand coming up to rub thoughtfully at the soul patch on his chin. “Well, well…I can honestly say that I didn’t expect that,” he confessed, obviously pleased. All of the irritation and antagonism had left his voice, leaving it rich with the sensual tonality that Spark had noticed when he’d first heard him speaking at the podium earlier that day. “Well done, Spark,” he mused. “Well done.” 

The words sent an unfamiliar sense of relief surging through Spark’s body, immediately followed by an intense wave of arousal. There was something about that gentle acknowledgement that made him feel like he’d won something, and it made him want more.

The dark-haired Professor set his empty coffee mug down on the counter, taking a step towards the tall blonde and smirking when Spark flinched back almost imperceptibly at his approach. “Mm, forgot how skittish the wild ones can be,” he murmured to himself, laughing good-naturedly when the blonde gave him a confused look. “Sorry…just teasing,” he assured the younger man gently, extending his hand and resting it on one beautifully-toned bicep, lightly trailing his fingertips over the Team Leader’s skin.

The gentle caress sent a wash of goosebumps down Spark’s arm, but for some reason, his brain had latched onto what the Professor had just said, and it wasn’t letting go. “No…” he interjected softly, his expression serious as he gazed into the Alolan’s dark eyes. “You weren’t. You meant what you just said.”

For the second time since he’d met the young man, Kukui was taken by surprise. His hand stilled on Spark’s arm, and he looked at him for a long time before giving the blonde a slow nod, not looking away from the cerulean eyes that were focused so intently on his own. “Yes…I did.” The corner of his lips turned upwards just slightly. “You’re very perceptive.”

The soft words spoken in that honeyed tone of voice sent another thrill of heat through Spark’s entire body, and the blonde Trainer drew a slow breath, unable to help noticing how _good_ Kukui smelled. And because of the few inches of height difference between them, he had to tilt his chin down just slightly to keep his hold on the Professor’s gaze, although the bill of the Alolan’s baseball cap was going to get in the way if they got any closer. “There’s something about you,” Spark murmured, his lips pursing slightly as he tried to find the right words to describe the other male. “You don’t just go for it…you have all of this control, but…it’s not because you’re holding back.” His gaze was searching as he kept his eyes locked on Kukui’s. “It’s something else.”

The Alolan scholar considered Spark carefully as he listened to what he was saying, the words drawing warmth up from his core in a way he hadn’t experienced in quite some time. He hadn’t been planning on revealing anything about that side of his nature so early on, but the young Trainer was already figuring it out for himself, so he wasn’t going to lie to him. Still…he felt he ought to give the kid at least one more chance to drop the current line of inquiry, since Pandora’s box wasn’t fully open yet.

“Working as a teacher at the Pokémon school means that I do have to have a lot of self-discipline,” he explained, offering Spark a half-truth as a way of gauging how determined the young man was to uncover the real reason behind what he was obviously sensing. “That’s probably—”

“Bullshit,” Spark cut him off, eyes narrowing irritably. 

Laughing, Kukui removed his hand from Spark’s arm and rested it on his own hip. “Well, not quite ‘bullshit,’ Spark…it was more of an attempt to give you an out,” he confessed, reaching up with his other hand to pull his baseball cap off, tossing it onto the island in the kitchenette. “Since this isn’t usually something I get into on the first night with someone.”

“Stop stalling and tell me,” Spark growled.

In an instant, the Alolan had fixed him with a withering glare, and the young Trainer took a step back, immediately cowed by the Professor’s displeased expression. However, he didn’t look away, curling his gloved fingers against his palms as he waited for an explanation.

Drawing a deep breath, Kukui let it out slowly, intrigued once again by Spark’s determination. And, if he was to be completely honest, he was more than a little turned on. Still resting his hand on his hip, the Alolan native gazed at the Team Instinct leader for another minute before finally making his decision. “Earlier, I told you that you’re not the alpha in this exchange. Did you understand what I meant when I said that?”

Spark’s brow furrowed slightly. “I…thought I did,” he confessed, his tone suddenly uncertain. “I figured that it meant you were a top.”

The Alolan smiled. “That isn’t _quite_ what I meant, although you are correct about the preference,” Kukui acknowledged. Taking a moment to consider his words carefully, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his lab coat, letting his gaze trail along the elegant lines of Spark’s jaw and throat for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. “I guess you could say that I like to be the dominant person in my romantic encounters.” 

“And what does that mean?” Spark inquired slowly, a hint of wariness in his voice.

One corner of Kukui’s mouth kicked upwards into his usual easy smirk, his expression almost playful. “Well, it means that I can take very, very good care of you in the bedroom…but in order for me to do that, you have to give up control to me. Completely.”

Eyes widening, Spark took a step back, laughing nervously as he made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “Uh, yeah…okay, I got it. I get it now,” he said quickly, glancing at the door as he wondered if he should just abandon ship. He was already in _way_ over his head. “And that’s cool, but…I don’t really think I’m into that sort of thing.”

“Aren’t you?” the Professor returned smoothly, an amused glimmer in his dark eyes as he reached up to remove his safety glasses, slipping them into the hip pocket of his lab coat. “Every time I put you in your place today, it looked like you wanted to jump me. And a few minutes ago, when you disappointed me with that half-assed apology, you immediately took the initiative and corrected yourself. I didn’t even have to prompt you.” 

Spark’s eyes widened and he made a soft noise of protest, opening his mouth to dismiss the Professor’s words and finding that he didn’t have anything believable to say. “That wasn’t…I mean…I didn’t…” His brain was suddenly stuck in a feedback loop, replaying every moment where the handsome prof had made him feel like a stuck-up little brat, and remembering how hard it had made him every single time. “I mean…”

When the handsome Trainer fumbled for an explanation, Kukui chuckled softly, shaking his head. He’d had the younger man pegged as a submissive from the moment he’d first interacted with him, and the fact that Spark was obviously completely inexperienced when it came to domination and submission was intriguing. However, it also meant that he had to tread very, very carefully in the next few minutes, or he’d risk scaring him off.

“Tell me, Spark,” Kukui prompted gently, his voice slipping into the smooth, reassuring register that he frequently used when he was teaching, “those times when I corrected you before…why did it excite you so much?”

The blonde Trainer bit his lip, his brow furrowing as he considered the question carefully. Normally, he hated it when people did that kind of thing…so what was it about Professor Kukui that was so different? “Because…” he began, clearing his throat when his voice cracked a little. For some reason, there was something about the other man’s demeanour right now that was making him feel at ease, despite the weirdness of the whole situation. “I could see that you wanted more from me,” he confessed. “I was so hot for you, but every time I tried to lay on the charm, it was like you were pushing me to do better, try harder. You weren’t satisfied…and you weren’t going to give me what I wanted until I got it right.” As the words left his lips, Spark could already feel arousal taking hold in the pit of his stomach. “And…I don’t know why…that just…drove me crazy.”

Kukui smiled, the look in his dark eyes pleased and more than a little seductive. “So if I pushed you like that in the bedroom, don’t you think that it’d feel just as good?”

Spark’s breath hitched, eyes widening as he scrambled to think of a way to brush off the question. It wasn’t long before he realised that there really was no way to answer it with anything other than an affirmative. Swallowing hard, he took a moment to search the Professor’s face before finally responding. “Yeah…” he acknowledged reluctantly, a faint shiver running down his spine. “I’m pretty sure it would.”

Seeing the uncertainty in the blonde’s expression, Kukui slowly approached the young Trainer, moving until their bodies were almost touching, his bare stomach a scant few inches away from the front of Spark’s hoodie. Reaching into the front pocket, he removed the Team Leader’s cell phone and gently set it down next to his wallet on the nearby island. “Do you remember what I said when we were talking about wildness, Spark?” he coaxed, returning his hand to the brightly coloured hoodie and sliding his fingertips upward to trail over the chain of Spark’s medallion.

The Trainer’s heart was pounding in response to the simple touches, all of his senses keenly attuned to the words and movements of the man in front of him. The faint scent of warm earth and rich fruit teased at the edges of his awareness, and he swallowed hard before speaking. “That it’s…useless,” he said softly, not sure where the Professor was going with this.

“It’s only useless when it lacks direction,” Kukui corrected him gently, his fingertips shifting to trace the collar of the hoodie, his expression intent as he looked the young Trainer in the eyes. “With proper guidance, wildness can be very, very powerful.”

Spark swallowed hard, a shiver running through him at the Alolan’s touch, the brunette’s soft words like a spell that was slowly drawing him in. “Guidance…” he murmured, drawing in more of the Professor’s scent as he considered what Kukui had just said. “You mean like…training?”

A wry smile came to the scholar’s lips at that, and he nodded. “Yes,” he confirmed, fingers splaying slightly as he rested his hand over Spark’s heart. “Exactly.” Kukui watched the young Trainer’s expression, seeing the hesitance in those cerulean eyes slowly giving way to understanding, and then to the faintest hint of reluctant desire. It was exactly what he was looking for…that single, fragile ember. If he handled it correctly, he’d be able to coax it into a full flame. 

“You’re a wild Jolteon, Spark,” Kukui continued, reveling in the subtle shiver that coursed through Spark’s body at his words. “Full of passion and energy and a will to fight…but without a Trainer, there’s no-one to direct that energy. You’re constantly striving to show everyone that you’re the best, but even when you win the battles, there’s always something missing…always that haunting thought that if you had someone to push you a little bit harder, a little bit further, that you could be something more, something better than you already are. But there’s nobody there to do that for you.” He let the words hang in the air for a moment, then leaned in a little closer. “Isn’t that what a Trainer is for?”

Spark’s chest tightened. Damn it, it was like the guy was inside his head. “Shut up, old man,” he growled softly, although there was no heat to the words. His breaths were coming quicker now, and his heart was pounding uneasily in his chest. Damn it, he didn’t know why, but everything Kukui was saying made sense, and it was getting to him. His will to rebel and be flippant, that lone wolf urge deep inside of his heart that was constantly driving him to be better and stronger and faster…all of that noise that was usually going on inside his head was strangely quiet right now, and that silence was scaring the shit out of him.

Kukui merely smiled at the words, waiting patiently as the blonde went to war inside himself.

Spark didn’t want to admit it, but Kukui was right…he _was_ a wild Jolteon, and the dark-haired Alolan’s words were ground-type moves, weakening him to the point where he was about to lie down and yield to the Professor’s hand.

The thought immediately made a surge of anxiety course through him, and he stepped backwards to put space between himself and Kukui, closing his eyes tightly and lowering his head. His complete independence in the hands of another human being? He just couldn’t accept that. There was no way. 

“I can’t,” Spark said softly, but even as the words left his lips, he knew that they weren’t true. He’d already lost. Kukui had seen right through to the heart of him, and his only options now were to surrender, or to run away…and Spark wasn’t the running type. But despite of all of that, there was still a part of him…that strong, wild part of him…that needed the Alolan to see that he wasn’t going to climb into a Pokéball without a fight. 

Taking the token resistance for what it was, Kukui smiled, slipping his hands into the pockets of his lab coat and keeping them there for the time being. “Easy,” he soothed, the tone of his voice as smooth as silk. “I know this is all pretty new to you, and the whole ‘fear of the unknown’ is probably making you second guess yourself right now. And that’s okay. But…you’re the Leader of Team Instinct, right?”

A hint of confusion showed through in Spark’s blue eyes when he opened them, lifting his head to look at the Alolan scholar with a questioning gaze. In his entire life, he’d never felt this vulnerable, and he wasn’t sure if the fear that he was feeling right now was something that a Team Leader like him should be proud of. “Yes,” he murmured, his entire body tense as he waited for some kind of admonishment or words of ridicule…the critical blow that was going to break his spirit and send him crashing to the ground.

Instead, the dark-haired Professor slipped a hand out of his pocket and reached up, trailing his fingertips over Spark’s cheek with a gentleness that took the blonde entirely by surprise. 

“That means that you’ve built your entire career as a Trainer on your ability to trust your intuition,” Kukui said smoothly, his expression calm and reassuring as his fingertips slipped down to run along the edge of Spark’s jaw. “In all of the scariest and most challenging situations you’ve ever faced in your life, I’ll bet that you’ve _always_ trusted your instincts, and that’s what has made you an excellent Trainer and an excellent leader. It’s probably what made you the person that you are.”

The words of acknowledgement broke through the last of Spark’s defenses, and something inside of him crumbled. His posture relaxed visibly, and Spark drew a deep breath, letting it out as he looked down into the Alolan’s eyes. The fears gnawing at the back of his mind were breaking up in the wake of Kukui’s gentle words, and Spark could feel his heartbeat evening out as he tilted his head slightly, leaning into the Professor’s touch for the very first time. Darting the tip of his tongue out to moisten his dry lips, Spark eventually gave a slow, solitary nod.

“So tell me, Spark…” the Professor murmured softly, “what are your instincts telling you to do, right now?”

That was it. The finishing blow.

Clutching at the front of Kukui’s labcoat, Spark groaned softly and sank to his knees. His breaths were shaky and uneven as he let his forehead come to rest against the older man’s hip, his eyes slipping closed as a surge of emotions overwhelmed him. He finally understood it now…how every one of his Pokémon had felt in that moment before the Pokéball hit the ground. He didn’t feel defeated, or weak…he felt wanted. He felt like he’d fought with all of his strength to show Kukui that he had what it took to be the best, and by doing so, he’d earned a place at the Professor’s side. And it felt amazing. But it was also scary as hell.

“Easy,” Kukui soothed, quickly reaching out to run his fingers through the soft spikes of the blonde’s hair. “Take it easy…” As his fingers carded through the soft tresses, the Alolan was careful to savour the moment, the significance of Spark’s first willing act of submission far from being lost on him. “I know that this is a lot to take in. It’s perfectly normal for you to feel overwhelmed right now,” he assured gently. “Just breathe.”

Spark nodded at the words, hearing the tone of them more than what the Professor was actually saying. For some reason, his mind was completely blank, his awareness focused in on the sound of Kukui's voice and the touches of his hand. In all his life, the inside of his head had never been this quiet…and Kukui was right—it was a bit overwhelming.

After a good ten minutes, Kukui’s petting motions slowed, and he smiled down at the handsome blonde. “So…you getting used to being inside that Pokéball yet?”

Spark laughed, feeling a warm sense of contentment settle into his heart. However, his smile gradually faded, and he frowned a little as he nuzzled into the warm material on Kukui’s hip. “I don’t know what to do,” he confessed softly, his gloved fingers still curled into the material of Kukui’s lab coat.

The words brought an affectionate smile to Kukui’s lips. “Is that something that you’re worried about?” he inquired softly, his voice rich with kindness as he resumed stroking the Trainer’s hair.

Gradually, Spark uncurled his fingers from the pale fabric, sitting back on his heels and resting his hands in his lap. “Yes,” he confessed softly.

“Why?” 

Spark frowned, staring at the carpet between Kukui’s feet, grateful for the continued stroking to his hair, as it was helping to keep him grounded. “Because…” he began, “I always have this worry in the back of my mind…that I’m going to let people down,” Spark explained softly. “It’s why I work so hard…I don’t want people to be disappointed in me.”

Deeply touched by the Trainer’s honesty, Kukui lowered himself to one knee, extending a hand and gently taking hold of Spark’s chin. Gently guiding it up so that he could look him in the eye, Kukui spoke, his tone of voice soft but serious. 

“You’re taking me as your Trainer now, Spark, for however long you might want to. Do you know what that means?”

The Team Leader felt his heart miss a beat at the declaration, and he searched the Professor’s dark eyes, reassured by the wellspring of patience that lay within them. He considered the words for a long time before answering. “I think so.”

“Okay. So what does it mean?”

Spark swallowed hard, shifting a little as he felt the beginnings of arousal creeping back into his body. “Trust,” he said softly. “I have to trust you. And…listen.”

“Very good,” the Professor murmured. “And what are you listening for?” he pressed, the hand on Spark’s chin slowly moving back to cup the side of his neck.

Spark swallowed hard at the gentle touches, biting his lower lip. Saying it out loud felt kind of embarrassing, but the Professor’s calm, expectant gaze made him want to give the guy everything he was asking for. “Commands,” he murmured, cringing and ducking his head, wondering why the awkward statement was only making him harder. “I have to…listen for your commands, so I can follow them.”

“Well done,” Kukui purred, leaning in to press a gentle kiss against Spark’s forehead and then drawing back to look him in the eyes again. “So if you do something incorrectly, it’s a sign that I’ve given you a command that you weren’t ready for, or that it was unclear. And that would be _my_ failing, not yours. So for me to be disappointed in you when that happens would make me a pretty lousy Trainer, wouldn’t it?” He smiled, his expression warm and reassuring.

For a moment, Spark just gazed at him, overwhelmed by the Professor’s ability to cut right to the heart of things and say exactly what he needed to hear. Despite the short amount of time they’d known each other, everything that Kukui had said and the ways in which he’d said it made Spark feel like it was okay to trust him fully, even if it meant that he was stepping off a ledge into the unknown here. Eventually, the young Trainer nodded, a grateful smile coming to his lips. “Yeah, I guess it would,” he said softly, leaning further into Kukui’s touch.

When Spark shifted forward, the Alolan scholar leaned in, the hand on the side of the blonde’s neck guiding him into a deep, searching kiss.

Spark groaned softly as he parted his lips, shivering in pleasure as Kukui’s tongue stroked against his own, the scholar’s mouth tasting like the coffee he’d just drank. The Team Leader splayed his gloved hands on Kukui’s bare chest, sliding them up to cup the sides of the Professor’s face, his heart beating faster as he shifted forward to seek more.

The older man indulged him, the pad of his thumb stroking along the edge of Spark’s jaw as they kissed, his other hand coming to rest on the blonde’s shoulder. He smiled against Spark’s mouth when the Trainer’s hands came to rest against his cheeks, and eventually Kukui pulled back, licking his lips as he looked Spark in the eyes. “Are you all right?”

Spark nodded eagerly, leaning in to kiss the Professor again as the sweet island scent that clung to the scholar’s lab coat drifted up to envelop him. 

The Professor allowed the blonde to explore for a few seconds more before gently guiding him back, rising to his feet and holding his hand out to the young Trainer. When Spark immediately moved to embrace him again the moment he was on his feet, Kukui stepped back and raised a hand to forestall him, his voice soft but firm. “Wait.”

Spark froze, the soft command sending a shiver down his spine. A hint of a blush rose on his cheeks as he forced himself to hold back, expectant blue eyes fixed on Kukui’s face.

The dark-haired Alolan waited for a moment, then offered up an alluring smile. “Good. I’d like to start your ‘training’…but it’s just going to be baby steps until we’re comfortable with each other, all right?”

The blonde felt his pulse quicken with excitement, in spite of the fact that he was already horny as hell and just wanted the Professor’s hands on him. “Okay,” he acknowledged with an emphatic nod.

“Good. I’m going to blindfold you and give you a simple set of commands. And if you do a good job following them…” Kukui trailed off for a moment, taking a few seconds to savour the blonde’s nervous, eager expression, “I’ll give you a reward.” 

At the word ‘reward,’ Spark felt an instant surge of excitement, and he nodded immediately, his expression growing more focused. “Okay.”

Retrieving a traveling first aid kit from his carry-on bag, the Alolan Professor opened it and rifled through the contents until he found a sling, tearing open the package and shaking out the triangular piece of fabric. Folding it over a few times, he brought the makeshift blindfold over and placed it over the Trainer’s eyes, smiling when the blonde tilted his head down a little to be helpful. “Now,” he said as he secured a knot at the back of Spark’s head, “your instructions are as follows: you’re to keep your hands at your sides. And until I say otherwise, the only words you’re allowed to say are ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ and you’re only to say them in response to a direct question. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Spark replied, his senses already focusing in on Kukui’s scent and the sound of his voice, now that he couldn’t see. 

“Repeat the instructions.”

“I have to keep my hands at my sides, and I can only say ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ when you ask me something,” the blonde repeated, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip.

“Good. We’ll start now.” Lowering his arms, Kukui stepped back to admire his new partner, savouring the sight that he presented. Standing there with his vision foiled and his body tense with anticipation, Spark was utterly irresistible…and for the time being, completely his to toy with. Glancing down, he was pleased to see the beginnings of an erection straining at the front of the Trainer’s leather pants. Yeah…he’d had the boy pegged, all right.

“All I’ve done is blindfold you, and you’re already hard,” he observed, his own arousal spiking when the blonde flinched as though he was being scolded. Such an adorable response… “That’s a good thing, Spark,” he reassured his new trainee calmly. “This is supposed to feel good.”

Relaxing a little at the words, Spark exhaled softly, licking his lips again as he listened for the Professor’s voice. Even though he was insanely turned on right now, his mind was still in that weird, quiet place that he wasn’t quite used to. And since he hadn’t been asked a question yet, he remained quiet, too.

Circling around behind the young Trainer, Kukui let his gaze run over the back of Spark’s leather pants, appreciative of the way they hugged his ass and thighs. If Spark had been a more experienced sub, he would’ve given one of those taut cheeks a sharp smack, but he was breaking new ground right now, and he knew that doing something like that would probably spook him. “I like these,” he said smoothly, so that Spark would know he was behind him as he reached out to glide the tips of his fingers firmly over one leather-clad buttock. “But I’m guessing that’s the idea.”

A soft noise of pleasure caught in Spark’s throat at the touch, his cock jumping at the light stimulation as if he hadn’t been touched in years. He remained completely still, drawing a shaky breath as he felt the Professor’s warm body press up against his back. The first brush of Kukui’s lips against his nape made his breath catch, the hairs of the Alolan’s soul patch grazing lightly against his skin and sending a shiver down his spine. Ohhh, that felt _way_ better than he’d expected… 

“Your neck’s pretty sensitive, huh?” the Professor mused as he brought his hands around, sliding them up under the front of Spark’s sleeveless hoodie to stroke his bare stomach. He was pleased, of course, to feel a firm set of abs tensing beneath his fingertips.

“Ye…yes,” Spark breathed, not certain if it had been a question that he was supposed to answer. It must have been, because the moment the affirmative passed his lips, he was rewarded with a smooth stroke of Kukui’s tongue and a graze of teeth over the area he’d just been teasing. Spark moaned helplessly, clenching his fists as his shaft swelled within the confines of his leather pants.

“That’s good,” the Alolan purred, a smug grin on his face as he slid his palms up further, smoothing them over Spark’s chest as he pressed his hips against the younger man’s backside. “I hope you have a lot of spots like that, because I’m going to go looking for them.” Gently, he slid the pad of one finger over Spark’s right nipple, pleased when the blonde jerked at his touch. “Hm…there too?”

The noise that escaped the Trainer’s throat was almost a whimper, and he nodded, then managed to draw enough of a breath to rasp a soft ‘yes.’

“And so good at answering my questions,” Kukui purred, pinching lightly at the bud he’d just been teasing and feeling his own body respond to the keening noise of pleasure that he got in response. Spark had been so full of arrogance and bravado in the conference room earlier, and now, under his skilled hands, the blonde was squeaking like a little mouse. 

“I like that you’re so vocal,” Kukui praised, his lips hovering above Spark’s ear as he spoke. “Is it hard, not being allowed to touch yourself?”

“Yes,” Spark responded immediately, struggling not to add a ‘very’ at the end because he wanted to follow Kukui’s commands to the letter for as long as his hormone-addled body would let him. So instead, he settled for repeating his earlier response for emphasis. “Yes.” A moment later, the Professor’s fingers were deftly tugging at both of his nipples, and he drew a stuttering breath, arching into the contact with a soft cry and clenching his fists tightly.

“You’re such a good little Jolteon,” Kukui purred into Spark’s ear, deeply pleased by the blonde’s responsiveness. He was going to make this one _sing_ tonight. “And you’re following my instructions so well…”

The Team Leader keened at the words, the gentle praise making the pleasure coursing through his body feel so much _better._ He whimpered again, the sound morphing into a sharp moan when Kukui reached around to knead him firmly through the front of his leather pants. And then, just as he was starting to get the contact he’d been craving, the Professor’s hands were gone. He’d stepped back, and now Spark was standing there unsteadily, completely disoriented by the blindfold, flushed and panting like an animal in heat.

When there was no sound, no contact, Spark whined softly, opening his mouth to say the Professor’s name and then stopping himself just in time. He was so turned on right now, he could barely stand it.

Kukui kept his distance, a Cheshire Cat grin curving his lips as he waited and watched. The younger man’s torment was evident in his shifting facial expressions, and the dark-haired Alolan took time to revel in it, rubbing firmly at the rise in his own sweatpants as Spark stood there panting and fidgeting impatiently. When another adorably soft noise of need passed the blonde’s lips, the Professor chuckled, deciding to take pity on him.

“All right, all right,” he soothed softly, still kneading at his own clothed erection. “That was a little test just now, and you did very well.”

“Hnn…” Spark groaned in frustration, flexing his fingers inside his orange gloves as he valiantly restrained the urge to touch his straining hard-on. Never in his life had he wanted to beg for something like he did right now.

“Take off your shirt and throw it to your right. Then put your hands back at your sides and keep them there.”

Excited at what taking his clothes off might mean, Spark grabbed the hem of his hoodie and yanked it upwards, his breath hitching when the collar got caught on the blindfold and almost dislodged it, his medallion landing somewhere at his feet. Realising that he needed to be more careful, Spark shifted his arms down and moved his hands up to spread the collar, pulling the garment off and tossing it to the side as instructed.

Picking the medallion up and setting it aside, Professor Kukui moved back in and rested his palms against Spark’s bare sides, leaning in to mouth at the side of the blonde’s neck.

The young Team Leader moaned eagerly, his hands coming up to rest on the Professor’s arms, then immediately snapping back down just before they made contact. A frustrated groan of desire fell from his lips as he clenched his fists, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he writhed under Kukui’s mouth and hands.

Listening carefully to the shifting tones of Spark’s vocalisations, the Professor eventually sensed that he’d pushed his young trainee far enough. He needed to relent, so that the blonde wouldn’t disobey one of his commands out of desperation and then end up getting discouraged because he’d failed. “All right, Spark,” he soothed, his fingers moving down to unbutton the front of Spark’s pants. “You’ve done very, very well with following my instructions, and I want you to keep following them while I reward you. Can you do that?”

The words sent a wash of emotion through Spark’s entire body—a heady mix of relief, arousal, elation and desire—and when Kukui undid the front of his pants, he almost came apart on the spot, his abs clenching tightly as a shudder ran through his frame. “Ah! Hnn…”

“Can you do that, Spark?” Kukui repeated, his own clothed hard-on pressed lightly against Spark’s body as he drank in the blonde’s eager shivering.

“Yes,” Spark breathed, nodding his head emphatically.

“Good.” Spreading the Trainer’s fly open, Kukui took hold of the waistband of Spark’s leather pants and tugged them down to mid thigh in one sharp jerk, the corner of his mouth pulling upward when he saw that the front of the Trainer’s electric yellow briefs had been soaked through with precum.

“Well, you’ve made quite a mess here, haven’t you?” Kukui teased, his lust spiking when Spark mewled and ducked his head, an appealing flush rising on his cheeks. The soft, pained ‘yes’ that passed the blonde’s lips was exquisite, and because it was more than he’d expected, Kukui rewarded him again. Pressing the heel of his hand against the damp fabric, he rubbed firmly, bracing his other hand in the small of the Trainer’s back to support him, since he wasn’t allowed to move his hands to steady himself.

Bucking into the contact, Spark gasped and arched onto his toes, fists clenching tightly as he tilted his head back and moaned in pleasure. Fuck, he was so damn close right now, and the Prof had barely done anything to him. He opened his mouth to beg for more, choking out another noise of frustration when he remembered that he wasn’t allowed to talk yet.

The Alolan native didn’t need to be a psychic to know exactly what the blonde was thinking at that moment. Grinning, he moved his hand up and then slid it beneath the waistband of Spark’s briefs, taking the Trainer’s bare sacs in his hand and giving them a faintly perceptible squeeze. The strangled cry that passed the blonde’s lips in response to that made his own shaft throb, and he pressed his lips to Spark’s chest, biting him gently as he took a moment to compose himself. “Hmm,” he sighed in pleasure, his honeyed voice teasingly matter-of-fact, as it had been earlier that day when Spark had tried to seduce him in the conference room. “I’ll bet there are some things you’d really like to say right now,” Kukui teased, sliding his hand up to give Spark’s shaft a few idle strokes, his lips closing over one of the blonde’s nipples.

Spark cried out at the twofold stimulation, whining as he arched into the older man’s touch. He gasped when Kukui lashed his nipple with his tongue, arching onto his toes with a keening noise that was pure, unrestrained need.

Lifting his head, Kukui gazed up at Spark’s face, reveling in the distressed, pleasure-hazed state he’d worked the blonde into. Lightly dragging his soul patch over the nipple he’d been teasing, he savoured the long, shivering mewl that fell from Spark’s lips. Drawing back, he pressed a fleeting kiss to the Team Leader’s sternum, immensely pleased with the blonde’s performance. Keeping one hand in the small of Spark’s back, Kukui slowly slid down his body to kneel on the floor in front of him.

Spark’s mind went completely blank as he felt his Trainer moving downward, a fresh bead of precum surging from the tip of his shaft as his briefs were yanked down to join his pants at mid-thigh. His spiky bangs were damp with sweat as he tilted his head down, wishing he could see what the other man was doing. Was he being rewarded now? Or was Kukui going to tease him even more? The mere thought made Spark bite his lower lip, his fists clenching tightly as he prayed it was the former.

Moving his hands to rest on Spark’s hips, the Professor watched his blindfolded charge for a moment, basking in the heady rush that came with having such a gorgeous young partner completely in the palm of his hand. “Spark,” he called softly, his arousal jumping at the blonde’s eager mew. That was it…one of those perfect moments that he absolutely lived for. “Spark, you’ve been very good, and because of that, I’m going to allow you to speak freely, now.”

_“Please,”_ Spark moaned raggedly, the sound almost a sob. “God, Professor, _please…”_

Kukui groaned softly in enjoyment at the desperate plea, and he leaned forward, taking the head of the blonde’s erection into his mouth and sliding down on it, sucking strongly as he stiffened his tongue to stroke the underside.

Spark’s head fell back on a strangled cry of pleasure as his entire world heaved, his knees almost giving out as Kukui worked his sensitized length with lips and tongue. In a matter of seconds, he started trying to pull back. “Professor—” he didn’t even have a chance to finish before he was yanked forward by the waistband of his pants, and his cock was buried in the hot, tight confines of Kukui’s throat. His entire body jerked and shuddered as his orgasm hit, and he clenched his fists tightly against his hips as he whimpered through his clenched teeth. 

Kukui drew off of the blonde’s length as soon as he’d swallowed his release, moving to steady the blonde as he wobbled on his feet. Carefully guiding Spark down to sit on the floor, the Professor held him close and nuzzled the top of his head, drawing in the scent of the Trainer’s spiked hair as the younger man quivered and twitched against him. Gently, he slid the blindfold off, tossing it aside to land on Spark’s discarded hoodie.

The young Team Leader curled into Kukui’s embrace, his whole body quivering as he drew short, hitching breaths, riding out an orgasm more intense than anything he’d ever felt before. It was still humming through his entire body…wave after wave of it… 

A faint smile curved the Professor’s lips as he rubbed the edge of his jaw lightly against the top of Spark’s head, stroking the Trainer’s arm as he waited patiently for the blonde to come back to his senses.

After a few minutes, Spark blinked groggily, swallowing hard and clearing his throat. “Professor.” The word was soft, almost hesitant.

“Hm?”

“Can I touch you now?”

Blinking, Kukui chuckled, amazed and humbled by the fact that Spark was still adhering to his previous set of commands, even after he’d already been rewarded. “Yes.”

Turning and struggling awkwardly onto his knees, Spark wrapped his arms around the older man, burying his face in the collar of the Professor’s lab coat. He was still trembling, body twitching occasionally as the last waves of his orgasm faded out. “Thank you,” he mumbled, gloved fingers curled tightly against Kukui’s upper back.

The soft words of gratitude made the scholar’s already aching arousal twitch, and he drew a slow breath, letting it out as a low growl of enjoyment as he returned the embrace, holding the blonde tightly. This kid really _was_ full of surprises. “You’re welcome, Spark,” he replied, his voice warm with approval. “And the fact that you just thanked me for your reward makes me even happier with your performance. You exceeded my expectations from start to finish, and I’m very proud of you.”

The words drew a soft mew of contentment from Spark’s throat, and he hugged Kukui tightly as an intense wave of relief and contentment surged through him. However, it wasn’t long before his brain shifted back into first gear, and he drew back, looking down between their bodies. “Wait—what about you?”

Smiling, the Alolan let out a low hum of pleasure. “Seeing you like that was really sexy,” he purred, reaching up and cupping the sides of Spark’s face, looking him in the eyes as he spoke. “Being able to do all of that to you just now, and having you take it like that…” he trailed off, leaning in to kiss the blonde deeply, then pulling back to look him in the eyes again, his own conveying his pleasure, as well as an intense desire. “I don’t think I’ve been this turned on in a long, long time.”

Shivering at the words, Spark bit his lip, his brain still fogged from everything he’d just been through. He’d never realised that a person could get so horny just from having another person do everything they said. Then again, he’d never have guessed that _he_ could get off so hard on being told what to do.

Spark’s gaze lingered on the rise in the front of Kukui’s sweatpants, then slowly moved upwards, trailing over the Professor’s picturesque abs and chest to linger on the Alolan’s handsome features. Even when he was this close to the edge, Kukui was still fully composed, and his dark chocolate eyes still held that calm, easy patience that Spark had seen in them all along. And suddenly, in that moment, it occurred to the young Team Leader that no matter what he did with this man, he was probably going to keep being patient and calm like this. Kukui _was_ a good Trainer, and the pleasure the man had just shown him made him want more.

Pulling back, the Team Instinct leader rose to his feet, carefully tugging his briefs and leather pants back up, not bothering to fasten them.

A flicker of concern showed in Professor Kukui’s eyes, but he remained silent as he looked up at the blonde, watching him carefully.

“Professor…” Spark began, then trailed off. As he looked down at Kukui, into those calm, chocolate eyes, he decided to listen to his instincts once again. “Trainer,” he said softly.

The title made Kukui’s heart miss a beat, intense desire surging through him as he curled his fingers against his thighs. The tails of his lab coat were spread to either side of him as he remained on his knees on the floor, pulse quickening in anticipation as he gazed up at the younger man and answered softly. “Yes, Spark?” 

The blonde’s expression was serious as he spoke. “I’m your Jolteon now, right?”

Again, Kukui’s heart skipped in his chest, and he drew a deep, steadying breath before giving a single, slow nod. “Yes,” he replied calmly, although calmness was the furthest thing from what he was feeling right now. He could sense that they were standing at a crossroads, and Spark was deciding on the path that their relationship was about to take. So despite the fact that his body was screaming at him to pin the blonde down and fuck him through the nearest flat surface, he remained where he was kneeling, waiting patiently for the young Trainer to give him his cue.

At Kukui’s gentle confirmation, Spark lowered his gaze, cheeks flushing as he swallowed hard. Again, he felt a little embarrassed with what he was about to say…but again, the way that Kukui was treating him made him want to do everything he could to please the man. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and determined. “I can do better,” Spark declared softly. Lifting his head, he gazed down at the Professor with calm blue eyes that were filled with conviction, then slowly extended a gloved hand to his new Trainer. “I want you to push me harder.” 

The words made an intense wave of lust tear through Kukui’s body, and his eyes darkened, smouldering as he looked up at the younger man. The voice of reason that was screaming at him to take things slow grew quieter and quieter as the blonde continued to gaze down at him with that determined expression, and eventually, it went silent. Slowly, the Professor reached out and took Spark’s hand, holding it tightly as he rose to his feet. He kept a firm grip on it, then raised it to his lips, kissing it softly as he kept his eyes on Spark’s. “Are you sure?” he asked in a tone that was low and serious, as though he were conveying a warning.

The look in the Professor’s eyes made every nerve ending in Spark’s body leap to attention, his pulse quickening with excitement as he swallowed hard and then nodded. He let the silence between them stretch for a moment longer before speaking, his voice soft as he repeated Kukui’s earlier words. “Isn’t that what a Trainer’s for?”

The grip on the blonde’s hand tightened as Kukui clenched his teeth, his resolve fraying slightly in the wake of Spark’s intensely seductive display of trust. The fact that the Team Leader had used his own words as an invitation was a potent aphrodisiac, a siren song luring him towards destruction on the rocks of his own lust. And it was too late to change course, now.

“Return,” he said firmly, finally releasing Spark’s hand, the bead of precum at the tip of his clothed erection already seeping through the material of his sweatpants.

Blinking, Spark tilted his head slightly. “Return?” It was a command that Trainers used to call back a Pokémon that was too badly injured to continue battling. But why was Kukui saying it now?

“It’s your safe word,” the Professor said seriously, his dark eyes intense. “If at any point you feel scared, or you want to stop, you say ‘return,’ and I’ll stop what I’m doing to check in with you and make sure that everything’s all right. And don’t hold back on using it because you’re afraid that I’ll be disappointed,” he added quickly, “because if I find out that you did that, I’ll be pretty upset with you.” Reaching out, he stroked a hand over Spark’s cheek, never once looking away from the young Trainer’s eyes. “There will be times when I may push you a little too hard, and I need to know for sure that in those moments, you won’t hesitate to communicate that to me. Do you understand?”

The words should have intimidated the hell out of Spark, but for some reason, they only made him more excited. Slowly, he nodded, his heart pounding as he leaned into Kukui’s hand. “Yes,” he breathed, eagerness showing through in his expression. “I will. I promise.”

“Good,” Kukui grunted, stroking the pad of his thumb across Spark’s cheekbone before withdrawing his hand and motioning towards the bedroom door. “Go to the bedroom and wait for me.”


	3. Chapter 3

When Professor Kukui stepped into the bedroom a few minutes later, Spark was standing in front of the glass sliding doors that led out to the balcony. He seemed to be peering out from behind the curtains, which were already drawn shut. 

“Spark,” Kukui called, feeling a small thrill of arousal when the blonde jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice. 

Letting go of the curtain, Spark rubbed the heels of his gloved hands anxiously against his leather-clad hips as he stepped away from the balcony doors. “Sorry, I kinda zoned out,” he confessed softly, his heart beating quickly in his chest.

Kukui’s hunger flared when he picked up on the blonde’s eager nervousness, and he tilted his chin up slightly, his aura like that of a tiger stalking its prey. “Oh?” He took a moment to let his eyes roam the blonde’s bare torso, noting a jagged scar on Spark’s side, most likely from a stray Vine Whip attack. On the front of one shoulder was a faint, mottled scar, possibly from an Ember…indeed, he was certain that if he looked long enough, he’d find telltale signs of quite a few of the young Trainer’s earliest battles on his body. Finally lifting his gaze to meet Spark’s, Kukui allowed a hint of a smile to touch his lips. “Are you excited for your training, Jolteon?”

A soft noise caught in Spark’s throat, his stomach tightening with anticipation at the pet name. “Yes.”

“Good,” Kukui murmured, then pointed to a spot on the floor in front of him. “Come here.”

The blonde immediately moved to the spot the Professor had indicated, wide blue eyes focused intently on his Trainer’s face.

Slipping his hands into the pockets of his lab coat, the Alolan gave a slow nod. “Strip.”

Breath hitching, Spark reached for the waistband of his leather pants, shoving them down his hips and over his knees, peeling them off one calf, then the other. Flipping them back right-side-out, he threw them onto a nearby chair, then hooked his gloved fingers in the waistband of his damp briefs and slid them down. Tossing them aside as well, he peeled off his socks and then reached for the fastening on one of his gloves.

“No,” Kukui stopped him. “Leave those on. I like them.”

The blonde’s heart fluttered at the words, and he couldn’t help smiling as a hint of colour touched his cheeks. “Thanks,” he murmured.

An amused smile curved the Professor’s lips, and he reached out to cup the side of Spark’s face, leaning in to kiss him deeply. This time he drew it out, taking the time to appreciate the softness of the blonde’s lips and the skill of his tongue. When the kiss broke, Kukui stayed close, the tip of his nose touching Spark’s as he spoke softly against the Trainer’s lips. “Mmm, so polite…I like it when you use your manners like that,” he purred, kissing the younger man again. 

Spark shivered and moaned into the kiss, raising his gloved hands and resting his palms flat against the Alolan’s bare chest. As much as he wanted to explore, he hadn’t received any instructions yet, so he kept his hands where they were. 

Pleased by the small gesture of respect, Kukui broke the kiss, smiling hungrily as he gazed into the blonde’s eyes. “Well done,” he murmured, slowly stepping back and making a show of shrugging out of his lab coat, enjoying the way that Spark’s eyes followed his every movement. Removing a couple of items from the hip pocket, he handed the lab coat to his young trainee. “Put this on the chair with your clothes.”

Taking the garment, Spark did as he was told, his entire body already flushed and tingling as he hurried over to the chair, draping the coat over it and rushing back over to stand in front of the dark-haired scholar again. By this point, he was already fully hard, and he was doing his best not to be self-conscious about it.

Tossing a small bottle of lotion onto the bed, Kukui showed Spark the other item, which was a fabric elastic bandage that was normally used to support a wrist or an ankle after a sprain. “I’m going to tie your arms behind your back so you can’t move them,” he said calmly. “Which means you’re going to be helpless while I’m fucking you. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” came the breathy response, and Spark bit his lower lip as his straining shaft twitched and flushed with colour in response to the visuals that immediately filled his head.

The Professor’s dark eyes glittered with enjoyment when the Trainer’s body responded enthusiastically to his words. “Well, that was unexpected,” he mused, his honeyed voice caressing the blonde’s senses as he reached out to trail the edge of the roll of bandages up the underside of Spark’s erection, delighted by the awkward noise of enjoyment that passed the blonde’s lips. “I didn’t think that the idea was going to excite you so much.” 

“Hn!” Spark gasped, fists clenching as the material stimulated his already sensitized flesh. At his Trainer’s words, he ducked his head, trying to fight back another wave of embarrassment.

Delighted by the awkward response to his teasing, Kukui immediately leaned in and brushed his lips against Spark’s cheek, his voice reassuring as he spoke into the blonde’s ear. “Again, Spark…that wasn’t criticism,” he soothed, repeating the teasing motion with the roll of bandages and reveling in the way Spark’s entire body jerked and trembled. “The fact that you’re excited about being tied up is a real turn on…and so is the fact that you’re so shy about wanting it.” He tapped the edge of the roll of bandages lightly against the head of Spark’s erection, his own weeping shaft jumping at the startled noise of pleasure that fell from the blonde’s lips. “Now…climb up onto the bed and kneel facing the headboard,” he instructed calmly, nodding towards the bed. “Keep your eyes ahead of you until I’m finished tying your arms.” 

Nodding eagerly, Spark did as he was told, climbing onto the bed and kneeling in the middle with his fists clenched on his bare thighs, his breaths uneven as he waited for another command.

Again, Kukui took a moment to appreciate the fact that he’d worked the bold young Team Leader into such a state, savouring the blonde’s excitement as he discarded his pants, socks, and shoes. Climbing onto the bed behind his new trainee, the Alolan Professor pressed his lips to the blonde’s nape, then sat back and undid the small metal fastener that kept the stretchy beige support bandage in a tight roll. “Give me your hands, Spark,” he urged softly.

Shivering, the young Trainer moved his hands back, licking his lips as Kukui guided his arms up so that his forearms were resting against one another in the small of his back. 

Slowly and carefully, the Professor wound the bandage around them, binding Spark’s forearms together from wrist to elbow, leaving the blonde’s gloved hands sticking out at either end. Securing the end of the bandage with the tiny metal fastener, Kukui leaned forward and spoke against Spark’s ear, smirking when the blonde’s breath hitched. “Pull to make sure they’re secure.”

Spark pulled, grunting softly as he shifted his shoulders in an attempt to wriggle out of the bindings, his stomach tightening when he realised that he couldn’t. His heart began to beat a little faster at the realisation that he was now completely helpless, and he swallowed hard. “I can’t get free,” he confirmed softly.

Smoothing his palms over the younger man’s shoulders and upper arms, the Professor nodded and went back to kissing at the nape of Spark’s neck. “Good,” he murmured, then bit the blonde sharply.

“Ah!” Spark yelped, drawing a shivering breath when the hands gripping his upper arms tightened to hold him in place. As Kukui’s teeth dug into his skin, he shuddered, precum beading at the tip of his shaft as his breaths started to come quicker. “Nngh…hah…”

When he felt that he’d marked the blonde satisfactorily, the Professor lifted his head, dragging his tongue over the abused skin and then shifting forward to press his body against the Trainer’s bare back.

Spark moaned as he felt the tip of the scholar’s hot arousal brushing over his skin, and he jerked when Kukui’s teeth dug lightly into the curve between his neck and shoulder. A moment later, the Professor was tugging at his nipples, and Spark bucked into the touches with a needy mewl. 

Feeding off of the blonde’s vocal responses, the Professor slid his hands downwards, relishing Spark’s sharp intake of breath when he enclosed his straining shaft in one hand and started to pump it slowly. Purring in pleasure as the younger man tried to push into his pumping fist with an eager moan, Kukui brushed his lips against the shell of Spark’s ear. “Are you usually the top or the bottom when you’re with someone, Jolteon?” he inquired passively, tugging the lobe lightly between his teeth. 

Spark shivered at the gentle tug, pulling at his bonds as Kukui continued to stroke him. “Hnngh…ah, I’m…usually top, but…I wanna bottom for you so freaking hard right now,” he panted, turning his head to rub his cheek lightly against Kukui’s temple, breathing in the scent of the Alolan’s dark hair.

Pleased by the Trainer’s words and his openly affectionate gesture, the Professor returned the light nuzzle, releasing Spark’s shaft and moving his hands up to knead lightly at the blonde’s biceps. “I’m glad,” he murmured, his palms sliding up to rest on Spark’s shoulders. A moment later, his grip tightened, and he shoved the blonde down, pinning him to the bed. 

“Whoa!!” Spark yelped, turning his head just in time to avoid a faceful of quilt. Trying to look back over his shoulder, he went rigid when he felt Kukui’s lips against his ear.

“This is where I start pushing you, Jolteon. We’re going to train hard, tonight.”

The blonde gulped, a shiver running down his spine as Kukui slowly slid back down his body. His breath hitched in his throat when the Professor pulled his hips up, forcing his knees apart into a wider stance. Colour flooded his cheeks as Kukui groped his ass, kneading the cheeks firmly before spreading them wide.

Smirking when he saw the embarrassed flush on Spark’s cheeks, the Alolan scholar just held him spread open for a few seconds, waiting for the blonde to start squirming before leaning in and slowly dragging his tongue over the Trainer’s puckered opening.

Spark yelped and tried to wriggle away from the contact, never having had anybody put their mouth back there before. However, at the Professor’s low growl of warning, he forced himself to stay still, gasping deeply when Kukui’s hot tongue dragged over the sensitive flesh again. Cheeks flaming, Spark clenched his gloved fists in his bindings, shuddering and uttering a reluctant moan of pleasure. 

Keeping the young Trainer spread with one hand, Kukui lowered the other to his own straining erection, stroking himself slowly as he laved his tongue over the blonde’s asshole, relishing his soft gasps and mews of enjoyment. Stiffening his tongue to tease the edges of the quivering hole, Kukui smirked inwardly when Spark finally gave up on being embarrassed and shifted his knees further apart on his own. Raising his head, the Professor licked his lips, keeping the blonde’s cheeks spread open with his fingers. “You want more?”

“Yes,” Spark gasped, blue eyes a little unfocused as he nodded eagerly, his cheek pressed firmly against the covers. “God, yes, Trainer, please…”

“Then say it,” the dark-haired Alolan purred, his sadistic side delighting in the awkward embarrassment of his new trainee. “Tell me what you want me to do to you, and I might keep going.”

The Team Instinct leader cringed, cheeks flooding with colour as he turned his head to hide his face in the covers. “Damn it…I…” He bit his lip, drawing a shaky breath and whining again. “Please…”

A low noise of pleasure passed Kukui’s lips at the adorable display, and he smiled, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as he spoke in a soft, cajoling tone. “You told me that you can do better, Spark,” he urged, slowly dragging his fist up the length of his own shaft as he indulged himself in a little light humiliation. 

“I can!” Spark said hurriedly, his heart missing a beat at the thought that he’d already fallen short of his Trainer’s expectations. “I’m sorry…just…” Gritting his teeth, Spark swallowed hard, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Please…lick my asshole,” he said clearly, toes curling as he pushed himself, even as a mortified flush started to spread across the back of his neck. “I want it. I want you to keep licking me there, because it feels really good.” 

A shiver of desire ran through Kukui’s lean frame, and he lowered his head again, stroking his tongue against Spark’s opening until the blonde was panting and moaning lewdly against the sheets. 

Straining at his bonds, Spark turned his head to press his cheek against the covers, eyes glassy with pleasure as he arched his hips and tried to spread wider. “Nnngh, please don’t stop,” he groaned, gasping when the Professor’s tongue stiffened and pushed against his hole. “Fuck!! Ahhnh, pleeease, Trainer, more…”

A thin sheen of sweat had risen on Kukui’s forehead, and he continued to stroke himself slowly as he worked Spark open with his tongue, unabashedly frenching the Trainer’s tight ring of muscle. Pulling back for a moment, he watched as a thin line of precum trailed down from the tip of the blonde’s shaft and disappeared into the coverlet, his own breaths a little uneven as Spark mewed in protest at the loss of his mouth. 

When Kukui pulled back and remained silent for a good minute, the Team Leader groaned and pulled against his bonds, gloved fingers flexing as he tilted his hips forward into empty air, his cock aching from the lack of stimulation. “Please, keep going,” he mewed, spreading his knees a little wider and tilting his hips up in a manner that he hoped was enticing. “I want more.” 

The erotic display made the Alolan smile, and he stroked the pad of his thumb teasingly against Spark’s damp opening. “Mmhmm? Then you’d better be more explicit in how you ask, Jolteon. No slacking.”

The blonde groaned, a fresh bead of precum oozing from the tip of his shaft at Kukui’s words. The Professor had been right, earlier…being pushed like this in the bedroom felt _so_ fucking good… “Trainer, I…” Huffing, he clenched his gloved fists, arching his back a little. “I want you to put your tongue on my asshole, and push it inside. And keep licking me.” Swallowing hard, he bit his lower lip for a moment before adding, “and put your hand on my dick.”

One dark brow rose slightly at the bold request, and Kukui smiled, giving his own erection one last lingering stroke before reaching out to take hold of Spark’s. “Well done…that was a lot more honest than I expected,” he praised, pumping the hard flesh a few times and smirking when the blonde groaned in delight. Leaning forward, he resumed his oral attentions, then pulled back and dragged the neatly groomed hairs on his chin over Spark’s sensitive hole, a thrill of delight surging through him when the young Trainer yelped and wriggled his hips in response to the new sensation.

Spark pressed his forehead into the mattress, gasping and jerking as Kukui grazed the hairs of his soul patch over his asshole again. Pulling at his bonds, he started writhing against the bed, gasping for breath as he tried to thrust into the Professor’s stroking fist. “Trainer…Trainer, please…” Spark panted raggedly as he arched his back, hips humping impatiently into the Alolan’s hand. The heat of Kukui’s tongue and the teasing strokes of those short hairs against his asshole had him so close to the edge that he was ready to scream. Wrenching against the bindings on his arms, Spark uttered a keening moan of utter frustration and kicked at the bed with one foot. “Fuck, Trainer, _please…_ Please, give it to me, I’m so close…”

Delivering a gentle bite to one pert ass cheek, Kukui smiled and released the blonde’s shaft, drawing back and reaching for the lotion, spreading a thick glob of it over two of his fingers. “All right…let’s get you ready for the next part of your training,” he murmured, smearing the substance over Spark’s opening and slowly pressing one of his fingers inside.

Groaning lewdly, the Team Instinct leader turned his head and rested his cheek against the drool-dampened coverlet, panting heavily and trying to push back onto the Alolan’s hand. 

Kukui squeezed lotion onto his own shaft as he slid the second finger into his trainee’s slick opening, giving the occasional light graze against Spark’s prostate to keep the younger man on edge as he worked him open. Once his own erection was coated, he returned to stroking the blonde’s shaft, grinning when Spark moaned and bucked greedily into his pumping fist. Starting to plunge his fingers steadily in and out of Spark’s hole, Kukui moved up behind him, watching the Team Leader’s face as he continued to jerk him off.

By this point, Spark was so wrapped up in the pleasure that was being dished out that he couldn’t form enough coherent thoughts to protest the fact that Kukui wasn’t fucking him yet. His breaths started to come quick and uneven as the firm strokes of the Professor’s hand coupled with his plunging fingers worked him towards his climax, and he clenched his fists in his bonds as he felt the telltale signs of his impending release.

A flicker of dark, sadistic enjoyment glowed in Kukui’s eyes as he kept plunging his fingers rapidly in and out of Spark’s slick hole, watching the blonde like a hawk as he worked the young Trainer right to the edge.

“C-coming,” Spark gasped, thighs quivering as he clenched his fists and pulled hard against the elastic bindings. “Hnngh, I’m coming—” the words cut off into a strangled cry of pain when Kukui took firm hold of the base of his shaft and squeezed tightly. “Ah, FUCK!!” he snarled, trying to writhe out of the viselike grip and failing, cursing a blue streak at the agony that burst through his groin as his release was ruthlessly pinched back. “Motherfucker!! What the hell!” Tears stung at the corners of his eyes as he panted raggedly against the bed, blue eyes glowing with fury as he tried to glare over his shoulder at the Professor.

Seeing the look on Spark’s face, Kukui purred in pleasure, his dark eyes gleaming with amusement. “Hmm, if I didn’t know better, I’d think that Jolteon wants to bite me right now,” he teased softly, sliding his fingers out of Spark’s hole and reaching for the lotion again. “Have I pushed you too hard already, little guy?”

Drawing a few more harsh breaths, Spark shuddered, clenching his eyes closed as his cock throbbed painfully in Kukui’s grip. Forcing himself to relax, he drew one long, shaky breath inwards, then let it out in a rush, swallowing hard. He’d told Kukui he could do better…he’d told him to push him harder…and while this painful situation wasn’t what he’d expected, he wasn’t going to back out now. “No, Trainer,” he growled, blinking his eyes open. “It just hurts,” he said honestly, “and I don’t like it.”

Gently, the Professor smoothed his free hand along the young Trainer’s side. “Thank you for your honesty, Spark,” he replied, lightly kneading the blonde’s hip and pressing a kiss to the curve of one buttock. “But the pain will subside,” he soothed, his calm voice holding a gentle and reassuring note of authority. “And in a couple of minutes, when I allow you to, you’re going to come really, really hard.”

Grimacing faintly, the blonde Trainer nodded, his cock still throbbing in the Professor’s tight grip. “I trust you,” he said softly.

The unexpected affirmation was deeply touching, and Kukui was struck yet again by how perfectly Spark had taken to the role of a submissive. Carefully, he released the blonde’s shaft, moving up onto his knees and pressing the head of his lotion-slicked erection to his trainee’s hole. “And that alone deserves a reward,” he replied, slowly pushing inward until he was hilted in the blonde’s passage, his bare hands sliding up to rest on Spark’s shoulders. 

The blonde Trainer groaned deeply, his cheek still pressed against the coverlet as Kukui’s hips came to rest against his backside. He could feel every inch of the hard length buried inside of him as he continued to hover on the edge of release, his body still achingly unfulfilled. The weight on his shoulders made him feel strangely secure, and he whined softly in anticipation. He’d never felt like this before…where he’d been hovering on the edge of release a minute ago, now he was pushing past it, as though he wasn’t capable of coming until he had an orgasm with his entire body. 

Kukui kept his weight braced on Spark’s shoulders as he allowed the blonde a moment to adjust, watching his facial expressions carefully and smiling when the young Trainer uttered another soft, pleading moan. “Take a deep breath, Spark,” he ordered softly, knowing that he’d pushed his trainee to the point where he’d need to use his actual name from now on to communicate with him.

Obeying the order without question, Spark drew a deep breath and let it out as a ragged yowl when Kukui started rutting him with jarring force, hips slapping noisily against his backside. He wailed and growled as he pulled at his bindings, gasping for air as the Professor arched over him and drove straight down against his prostate. Every snap of Kukui’s hips sent sharp waves of pleasure tearing through him, and Spark could barely draw enough breath to cry out as the Alolan’s forceful thrusts drove him down against the mattress. A moment later, the Professor shifted back and changed the angle of his hips, and Spark moaned loudly in frustration at the loss of those punishing waves of pleasure, his blue eyes glazing over as he panted open-mouthed against the sheets.

A low groan of ecstasy passed Kukui’s lips when he saw that he’d managed to reduce the young Trainer into a mindless, drooling mess, and he fisted a hand in the blonde’s hair, hauling him back onto his lap with a low growl. Looping his free arm around Spark’s waist, he kept driving into him in quick, shallow thrusts, savouring the blonde’s short, hitching gasps as he took his own pleasure from Spark’s willing body. Using the grip on the Team Leader’s hair to keep his head pulled back, Kukui buried his teeth in the side of the blonde’s neck, gratified when the pain made Spark clamp down on him. He shuddered, shifting back a little more and pounding against the Trainer’s prostate with ruthless force, having delayed his own climax for long enough. The Professor’s teeth dug in harder when Spark’s vocalisations descended into a series of sharp, keening yelps, and he raked his nails across the blonde’s taut abs, gasping when Spark tightened around him again, pulling him right to the edge. 

Releasing the bite, Kukui shoved him face-down onto the mattress again, arching over the young Trainer’s back and grabbing his shaft, pumping it steadily in his fist. He felt more than heard the blonde’s orgasm, his own release wrenched out of him as the blonde’s passage clamped down on him like a vise and started spasming. A low curse caught in his throat as he pressed in hard against Spark’s backside, one hand clutching at the blonde’s hip as his head lolled back on a ragged groan of pleasure, a powerful shudder rocking him from head to toe. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against the back of Spark’s shoulder, panting breathlessly against his sweat-dampened skin. Kukui uttered a low purr of enjoyment, his heart still pounding in his chest as the last spurts of his release coated the blonde’s insides. Savouring the feel of Spark’s lean body underneath him, Kukui nuzzled the back of his neck, releasing the blonde’s shaft and moving his cum-slicked hand up to knead at the Team Leader’s other hip.

His trainee’s body was twitching and shuddering powerfully underneath him, and the tight passage gripping his cock was still clenching and fluttering rhythmically as Spark lay captive in the throes of his orgasm. Eventually managing to lift himself up, Kukui braced himself on one arm and reached between their bodies to undo the metal tab on the bandages that were keeping Spark’s arms bound behind him. Unravelling the material carefully, he tossed it aside, gently running his clean hand over one of the Trainer’s biceps. 

“Spark,” Kukui called gently, a pleased smile curving his lips when the blonde just lay there, blinking glassy blue eyes and panting raggedly against the patch of drool he’d left on the covers. Unable to help a touch of pride at the realisation that he’d introduced Spark to subspace on his first night with him, the Alolan shook his head fondly and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his shoulder. Carefully guiding himself out of the young Trainer’s body, the Professor smirked when Spark’s breath hitched as he slid free of his opening. Reaching up, he carefully guided the Team Leader’s arms out of the small of his back, laying them at his sides and then stretching out on top of him again, nuzzling the back of one ear.

Groaning in pleasure when the warmth of his Trainer’s body covered him like a blanket, Spark continued to lie there in a daze, his breaths still hitching occasionally as his body twitched and shuddered in the aftermath of his climax. 

Taking care to ensure that his inexperienced trainee was aware of his presence as he rode out the high, Professor Kukui nuzzled the sweat-dampened hair at the back of Spark’s head, one hand kneading lightly at the blonde’s left shoulder as he spoke softly to him. “Thank you, Spark. That was a tough training session, and you worked very hard to please me.” Kissing the back of his ear, the Professor continued to talk to him, his own heartbeat gradually evening out as he tended to his partner. “I’m very happy with how you performed…your drive and your determination are sexy as hell, and I’m so grateful that you were willing to let me push you like that.”

“Hnnnnn…” A soft, happy noise passed the blonde’s lips, and he smiled contentedly, his eyes slipping closed as he hovered in a dimension of pure bliss.

Chuckling softly, Kukui continued to nuzzle and kiss at the back of Spark’s head, stroking the pad of his thumb back and forth over the curve of the blonde’s shoulder, running his palm up and down the younger man’s upper arm. After a good ten minutes had passed, the Professor tried again. “Spark?”

“Hnnuh?” the blonde blinked his eyes open dazedly, trying to look back over his shoulder without physically moving his head.

A warm smile curved the Alolan’s lips, and he leaned down to press a kiss against Spark’s cheek. “I’m going to go out to the vending machine in the hallway and grab you a snack and some OJ. I pushed you pretty hard tonight, and I don’t want you to crash.”

“Mm,” the young Trainer purred, closing his eyes again and smiling.

“Spark,” Kukui called again, a little more authority coming through in his voice this time.

Startled, Spark blinked his eyes open and frowned a little, his expression worried. “Huh?”

Moving to kneel beside the younger man, Kukui gently took hold of one shoulder and tried to guide him onto his side. “C’mon now, I want you to sit up so I know you’re okay to wait for me while I go get you something to eat.”

“Oh,” Spark mumbled, grudgingly wriggling onto his side. With the Professor’s help, he managed to shift up to sit with his back against the pillows that Kukui had bunched at the headboard. Letting his head fall back to rest against the wall, he gazed at the Alolan Professor through heavy-lidded eyes. “You gonna be long?” he mumbled.

Relieved that the blonde had finally regained the ability to form basic sentences, the Professor smiled and shook his head. “No. Five minutes, probably. Ten, tops, if the machine won’t take my bill or something. You just stay here, all right? No trying to get up off of the bed.”

Spark laughed weakly, his head lolling against one shoulder as another wave of euphoria coursed through his body. “Duuuude, you fucked the worrrrrrds outta my head,” he slurred, his eyes slipping closed as he grinned dopily again. “Walking is like… _not_ happening.”

“All right,” the Professor laughed. Slipping off of the bed, he went into the bathroom and washed his hands, then returned to the bedroom to get dressed. Skimming into his sweatpants, he slipped his bare feet into his sneakers and pulled on his lab coat as an afterthought. Taking one last moment to appreciate the sight of a sexed-out Spark lazing against the headboard in nothing but his orange gloves, Kukui smiled and went into the other room to grab his wallet, stepping out into the hallway.

Walking up to the vending machine, Kukui slipped a few bills into the slot and pressed the button to purchase a bottle of orange juice, then selected a bag of cashews. As he leaned down to retrieve the items from the bottom of the machine, he felt the cell phone in the inside pocket of his lab coat vibrating. Shifting his items into the crook of one arm, he reached into his pocket and pulled the phone out, his expression darkening when he saw that the message on the screen was from the main lab on Melemele Island, and it was written in code. 

Scrutinizing it carefully, Kukui felt his stomach tighten when the meaning of the jumbled words became clear. Drawing a deep breath, he let it out as a soft curse, using his thumb to text back a code word to indicate that the message had been received and understood. Pocketing the phone again, Kukui walked back towards his room, shaking his head and filing the information away for later contemplation. Right now, Spark’s aftercare was his first priority…everything else could be dealt with in the morning.

Stepping back into the hotel room with the bag of cashews tucked into one pocket and the drink in his hand, Kukui walked into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Spark laying there exactly as he’d left him, slumped against the pile of pillows with his arms limp at his sides. “Hope you didn’t pass out while I was gone,” he called, approaching the bed as the blonde blearily blinked his eyes open and looked up at him in apparent confusion.

“You were gone a long time,” Spark mumbled.

Glancing at the radio alarm clock on the bedside table, Kukui smirked. “Eight minutes, Spark.”

“Seriously?!” the blonde replied drowsily, following Kukui’s gaze and blinking at the clock radio as though he’d never seen one before.

“Yes. Now drink some of this,” he instructed, opening the bottle of orange juice and raising it to Spark’s lips. 

Lifting a gloved hand, Spark rested it over the hand Kukui was using to grip the bottle, his adam’s apple bobbing as he drank about a third of the contents in one go. When his Trainer withdrew the bottle from his lips, he looked up at him curiously, starting to feel a little more alert. “Why’d you get this stuff, again?” he inquired curiously, reaching up to undo the straps on his gloves and pulling them off, tossing them onto the bedside table.

Setting the bottle down next to Spark’s gloves, Kukui opened the bag of cashews and offered him a few. “Because you needed it. You trained hard tonight, and I pushed you past the limits that your body is used to stopping at.”

The Team Leader looked up at Kukui curiously as he munched on the sweet nuts. “Mmhmm? So?”

“So you had a lot more adrenaline going through your system than you normally would, which means a harder crash when the sex is done,” the Professor explained, picking up the bottle of orange juice and raising it to Spark’s lips again. “It’s a bit like doing a really hard workout at the gym…your body consumes a lot of calories, and it burns up a lot of sugar from the adrenaline rush. If you don’t replace all of that when you’re done, you’ll end up feeling like crap, and I don’t want that.” Lowering the bottle, Kukui set it aside again, giving the blonde another handful of cashews.

“Oh,” Spark replied before shoving them into his mouth, crunching thoughtfully for a few seconds and then swallowing. “You know a lot about this stuff, huh?”

The Professor chuckled, slipping out of his lab coat and hanging it over the chair, then removing his shoes and pants. “I do,” he acknowledged, stretching for a moment before walking back over to the bed. “Like I said, I like to be the dominant person in my relationships, and that means that I have certain obligations. Just like any other Trainer, I’m responsible for the physical and emotional well being of those who are in my care. And I take that responsibility seriously,” he explained, climbing back onto the bed and stretching out on his back next to Spark. “I do everything in my power to make sure that my partners enjoy the experience as much as I do, because at the end of the day, having control over them is a privilege, and it’s one that can be taken away from me at any time.”

Reaching out and picking up the bottle of orange juice on his own this time, Spark took a slow sip as he contemplated the Professor’s words. When he’d asked the other man earlier if he was his Jolteon, he’d sensed that his ‘training’ was something that Kukui was going to take very seriously…but now that he’d heard a little of what Kukui’s responsibilities actually entailed, he couldn’t help feeling an even greater sense of respect for the dark-haired Alolan. “What you did to me was amazing,” Spark murmured, setting the cashews aside and stretching out on the bed, shifting over to curl up next to the handsome scholar. 

Satisfied that Spark had eaten and drank enough, Kukui curled an arm around the young Trainer, smiling as the blonde rested a cheek against his bare chest. “I think…that was the best it’s ever been for me. By far.”

Gratified by the praise, Spark lay there for a long time, feeling content and utterly sated. Closing his eyes, he reveled in the feeling of being pressed against the Professor’s lean, warm body, listening to the sound of his heart beating as he lay there with his head on Kukui’s chest. Draping an arm across the older man’s waist, Spark sighed in contentment, purring softly when the Professor began to card his fingers through his hair. Eventually, something occurred to him, and he opened his eyes again. “Nn…Trainer?”

Smiling at the title, Kukui glanced down at him, fingers kneading lightly at the blonde’s scalp. “Yes, Spark?”

“Are you…” he began, then wrinkled his nose a little. “Like, am I…” he fumbled, trying to think of how to ask what he wanted to ask.

“Are you my only Pokémon?” Kukui ventured smoothly, his expression warm with affection.

“Yeah,” the blonde mumbled, blushing at the metaphor.

“Yes,” the Professor replied. “I’m not training anyone else right now.”

“Good,” Spark grunted.

Kukui snorted in amusement at the blonde’s blunt response. “You like being in that Pokéball, huh?”

Spark nodded against the Alolan’s chest, and the arm lying across Kukui’s midsection squeezed him tightly. “I want you to keep training me,” he said seriously. “What we did tonight…I’ve never had sex like that, ever. I don’t think I could go back to…” he trailed off, thinking for a moment, and then smiled. “I don’t think I could ever go back to being wild, now that I know what it’s like to be with you.”

Again, the blonde was using his words, and again, it humbled the Alolan scholar, making his heart swell with warmth. “Spark…” Wrapping his arms around the blonde, he nuzzled his face into the younger man’s hair, then pressed a soft kiss against his forehead. “I would love that.”

Spark curled into the embrace, grinning from ear to ear. “Me too. You’re a really good Trainer.”

Kukui laughed, breathing in the scent of the blonde’s sweat-dampened locks and sighing contentedly. “Well, my Jolteon’s a bit higher level than I thought he was,” he responded playfully, rubbing his foot against Spark’s leg. “That’s always helpful.”

The Team Leader smirked. “Sounds like you need some coaching to buff up your appraisal skills. I can help you with that, you know.”

Snorting in amusement, Kukui gave the blonde a playful smack. “Smartass.”

“Ow! I was just kidding!” Spark laughed, sitting up and grinning at the older man. Gazing at him for a long moment, he let his eyes trail over the Professor’s handsome features, then leaned forward for a slow, gentle kiss. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against Kukui’s, a hint of seriousness in his tone when he finally spoke. “Our work is gonna make this hard,” he murmured.

Reaching up to pet the side of his trainee’s face, Kukui rubbed the tip of his nose lightly against Spark’s. “I know. But I take my role as a Trainer very seriously, Spark,” he assured the blonde, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “Every opportunity I get to have you with me, I’ll make it happen.”

Nodding, Spark let his forehead rest against Kukui’s for a little longer before pulling away, glancing down at the covers and smirking a little. “Man, I came a _lot_. I kinda feel bad for housekeeping,” he laughed, reaching for the edge of the coverlet and moving to pull it down.

Chuckling as he rolled onto his side and got up off of the bed, Kukui watched as Spark removed the top blanket and tossed it into the corner. While he was standing there, the Alolan reached up to undo the bun at the nape of his neck, using his fingers to comb it out once the bobby pins had been removed. “I’ll leave them a good tip,” he reassured the blonde, watching him wriggle under the remaining blankets with a smile. Slipping back into bed with him, the Professor lifted his arm so that Spark could curl up against his side again.

Resting a hand over Kukui’s heart as he tangled their legs together, Spark laid his cheek against the scholar’s firm chest and sighed softly in contentment. “Do I get to sleep in after getting my brains fucked out like that?” he joked, yawning widely and nuzzling in a little closer.

“Sadly, no,” the Alolan replied with a wry smile. “I have plans in the morning, so I’ll have to be up early. Which reminds me, I’d better set the alarm…” Slipping his arm out from under Spark’s head, Kukui rolled over onto his side and reached out to fiddle with the clock radio.

“Mmhmm,” the blonde acknowledged drowsily, leaning on one elbow as his eyes roamed the muscular expanse of Kukui’s back. Noticing a thatchwork of scars on the Alolan’s tanned skin, he reached out and ran his fingertips lightly over a thin line running just under the edge of the brunette’s right shoulder blade. “Are these from training Pokémon?” Spark murmured drowsily, tracing another short, thick scar in Kukui’s middle back.

“Hm? Oh…some of my scars are, yeah,” Kukui replied, switching the clock radio mode to “alarm” and then rolling back onto his back, letting Spark curl into the crook of his arm again. “Mostly the ones here and here,” he said as he indicated the edges of his forearms.

Yawning, the Team Instinct leader grunted. “Mmm. What are the other ones from?”

Echoing Spark’s yawn, Kukui brought his hand up and ruffled his fingers through the young Trainer’s hair. “Ah, well, a bunch of them are from a _no mas_ match with Fuego Sagrada,” he confessed idly, gazing up at the ceiling and smirking faintly at the memory. “Kinda hard to come out unscathed when your opponent puts you through a plate glass window.”

“Mhmm,” Spark mumbled. A moment later, he bolted upright, blinking down at the Alolan quizzically. “Wait, _what??_ ”

Kukui burst out laughing at the blonde’s reaction. “I used to be a professional wrestler, Spark.”

For a long moment, the young Trainer was silent, as though he was expecting a punch line. When it didn’t come, he let out a slow breath, his gaze shifting down to the scholar’s perfect abs. “Well, I guess that would explain the body…” Spark murmured.

“Thanks,” Kukui snickered.

“You’re serious, though? You really were a wrestler?”

Cocking his head slightly, the Professor nodded, genuinely flattered by Spark’s interest. “I was a luchador, yeah. I wrestled under the name ‘the Masked Royal.’ But I retired from the circuit a couple years ago because research was taking up too much of my time.” Lifting up his dark bangs, he indicated his hairline. “S’why I wear a baseball cap all the time. Hides the marks from blading, since I didn’t start wearing a mask until I was a couple years into my wrestling career.” When Spark just blinked at him dumbly, Kukui chuckled and lowered his hand. “Blading is when you cut yourself up near your hairline, usually after you get a steel chair to the face. Even small cuts on your scalp will bleed like crazy, so it makes the hit look way more serious than it actually was. Adds to the drama.”

Spark stared at him for a straight minute before his expression brightened with childlike delight. “Oh my god, that is SO COOL!!” he gushed, practically vibrating with excitement. “That’s INSANE!! Like, I have so many questions now!!”

“I’ll answer one, Spark,” Kukui laughed, “it’s been a long day and we both need sleep.”

Pouting a little, Spark huffed, thinking for a moment before speaking. “Okay, so the match where you went through the glass window, what was that about?”

Smiling as he relaxed against the pillows, Kukui curled an arm behind his head and gave a nostalgic sigh. “Ah, yeah, the _no mas_ match,” he acknowledged.

“Meaning?” Spark prompted, hoping Kukui would allow the extra question since he was a bit of a noob when it came to the world of lucha libre.

“Hm? Oh, it’s Spanish for ‘no more.’ Basically, in a _no mas_ match, the two opponents beat the living hell out of each other until one of them says ‘no mas’ because he can’t take any more. Or she,” he corrected himself quickly. “I’ve wrestled some pretty tough luchadoras, as well.”

Spark stared at him, wide-eyed. “Soooo many questions…” he murmured.

“Yeah, well, I’m only answering this one for now, so the rest will have to wait,” Kukui chuckled, closing his eyes. “I was a _técnico_ for most of my career, but after a couple of title wins, the creative team decided it was time for the Masked Royal to do a heel turn,” he explained. “There was a major title match between Fuego Sagrada and Perro Loco, and the referee had just been knocked out. So Perro Loco’s boys climb up into the ring and start beating the hell out of Fuego Sagrada while the ref is unconscious, and I come running down to the ring from backstage with a steel chair in my hands.” By this point, Kukui was grinning from ear to ear. “I leapt in between him and Perro Loco’s boys, and just when the crowd thought I was gonna lay into them, I turned around and hit Fuego Sagrada instead.” The Professor’s voice was smug as he stretched a little, then relaxed against the pillows again. “The crowd went absolutely _nuts_.”

Curling up against Kukui’s side, Spark gazed up at the Professor with an expression of childlike wonder. “So cool,” he murmured. “What happened then?”

“Well, that was the setup for the rivalry between me and Fuego Sagrada,” Kukui responded, idly stroking Spark’s back as he spoke. “We had a bunch of great high-profile matches, and of course, because I was a _ludo_ , all of my wins were controversial.”

“How were they controversial?” the blonde inquired in a soft murmur, his expression still awestruck as he listened to Kukui’s story.

Opening his eyes, the Professor glanced down at Spark, blinking when he saw the look on the younger man’s face. Damn, he wished he had a camera right now, because the blonde was _way_ too cute like this. “Uh…” Shaking himself, Kukui cleared his throat. “Right…well, by _controversial,_ I mean that whenever I won, it was because one or more of Perro Loco’s boys ran down to the ring to interfere and help me secure the victory.”

“Ohhhhh,” Spark breathed, nodding his understanding. “Got it.”

“Yeah. So after that happened several times, Fuego Sagrada set the terms for our ultimate match, which was happening at the biggest pay-per-view bash of the year. A _no mas_ match, where any interference from outsiders would result in immediate disqualification.”

“Did you win?” Spark asked softly.

Kukui smiled, tilting his head down to press an affectionate kiss against the blonde’s forehead, nuzzling him gently. “Almost,” he murmured into Spark’s hair, drawing back to look him in the eyes as he finished his story, unable to get enough of the young Trainer’s adoring gaze. “We beat each other senseless with everything we could find. Trash cans, cinder blocks, chairs, kendo sticks, tequila bottles…then, just when it looked like I was about to put him through one of the venue’s plate glass windows, he reversed the move and I went through it instead. While I’m lying there in this pile of broken glass shards, Fuego Sagrada comes up and puts his foot on my throat, and the whole crowd gasps as I finally say _‘no mas.’_ ” Kukui paused for effect, relishing the awestruck look on the younger man’s face. “All things considered, it was a pretty badass ending to the most brutal match of my career.”

Spark let out a soft breath, his pale brows furrowing slightly. “But…aren’t you bummed that you lost?”

“No,” Kukui replied with a smile, going back to stroking Spark’s hair. “Personally, I think that being a _ludo_ is more about having fun than winning. It’s about giving the fans a bad guy to rip on, and making sure the _técnicos_ look like the heroes.” He snickered. “Plus, being a bad guy’s a total blast, so even when you lose, it’s still a heck of a lot of fun.”

Spark was quiet for a long time, his hand lightly stroking the firm expanse of Kukui’s chest as he reflected on the story and the events of the last few hours. He never could’ve predicted that the night would turn out this way, but now that it had, he couldn’t help but be grateful for how fortunate he was. Curling closer against Kukui’s side, Spark nuzzled his chest with a contented sigh. “You’re amazing, Professor Kukui…and I’m glad that I got the chance to be with you like this.”

Tilting his head down to kiss the top of the young Trainer’s head, the Alolan took a long moment to savour the things the young man had just said. When he finally replied, his voice was warm with affection. “Thanks, Spark,” he murmured, nuzzling the Team Leader’s hair as he spoke. “And I’m glad that you trusted your instincts enough to accept me as your Trainer.” 

A brilliant smile curved the blonde’s lips as he snuggled closer and tucked his head under Kukui’s chin, sighing in contentment as he began to doze off.

Rubbing the edge of his jaw lightly against the top of Spark’s head for a moment, Kukui pulled the blanket up a little more so that it covered the blonde’s bare shoulder, then reached out to turn off the lamp on the bedside table. “Good night, little Jolteon,” he murmured, before closing his eyes as well.


	4. Chapter 4

The warmth of the morning sun against his eyelids slowly drew Spark into wakefulness, and he stretched a little under the blankets, yawning widely. His gaze was immediately drawn to Kukui, who was standing on a mat near the balcony door, obviously freshly showered. Clad only in his jogging sweats, he was going through a slow, purposeful set of movements that looked almost like fighting stances.

Spark watched as the dark-haired Alolan moved, completely entranced by the fluid motions and the way that they drew attention to the toned muscles flexing beneath the scholar’s tanned skin. He’d never thought to call a guy beautiful before, but as Kukui moved gracefully in the morning light streaming through the glass doors, Spark couldn’t really call his Trainer anything else.

Drawing his morning exercise to a close, Kukui closed his eyes for a moment, drawing a deep breath and then exhaling slowly. When he turned around, he stopped short when he saw Spark sitting up in bed, crystalline blue eyes focused on him with considerable intensity. “Spark?”

Snapped out of his dreamy haze, Spark shook himself, cheeks colouring a little as he cleared his throat. “Good morning, Professor.”

Chuckling softly, Kukui walked over to the bed, reaching out and smoothing a hand through Spark’s tousled blonde hair.

“Did you sleep all right?” the Alolan inquired, pleased when the younger man leaned into his touch like a contented Litten.

“Yes.” After a moment, Spark pulled away and looked up at him, his gaze curious. “What were you doing, just then?”

Smiling, the Professor moved his hand down to stroke the side of his partner’s face. “It’s called Hitmon-Chi,” he explained, his fingertips lightly tracing the shell of Spark’s ear. “It’s an ancient meditative practice, passed down among the Melemele Islanders for generations.”

“It’s really cool,” Spark murmured, rubbing his cheek against the Professor’s abs and wrapping his arms around him.

A soft laugh escaped the Alolan’s lips and he returned the embrace, his eyes slipping closed as he took a moment to bask in the warmth of Spark’s affection.

After a moment, the young Trainer drew a deep breath, letting it out as a low sigh. “You have to leave today, don’t you?”

Kukui’s smile faded, and he opened his eyes to look down at Spark, one hand moving up to rub gently at the blonde’s nape. “Yes.”

Spark was quiet, the only outward sign of his disappointment being a subtle tightening of his arms around the Professor’s waist.

Touched by his trainee’s attempt at stoicism, Kukui guided Spark back, sitting down next to him on the bed. “I’m having breakfast with Professor Willow in about an hour, and I’d like you to come with me, if that’s all right.”

Honoured to receive such an invitation, Spark smiled warmly and nodded his head. “Of course.”

“Good. You’ll have to run back to your own hotel room for a shower and a clean change of clothes, though, because there’s some confidential matters that I need to take care of before we leave, and I’m going to need the privacy,” Kukui explained, getting up from the bed and picking up the blonde’s clothing from where it lay draped over a nearby chair. Bringing it back over to him, he handed it to Spark with a warm smile. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in forty-five minutes.”

*

If Professor Willow was surprised to see Spark accompanying Professor Kukui into the restaurant, he didn’t show it, and the majority of their meal was spent discussing variations between Pokémon in the regions that the two scholars had studied. Needless to say, Spark was grateful when Professor Kukui helped to draw him into the conversation by talking about different types of Pokémon eggs and their hatching times, since his own work as a Team Leader had given him enough experience with that to contribute something meaningful on the topic. 

It wasn’t long before their plates were empty, and the waitress promptly showed up with coffee (which the two Professors gladly accepted). Not really a fan of caffeinated drinks, Spark declined, turning his head to gaze out the window as fat, heavy raindrops began to patter against the glass panes.

Startled out of his reverie when Kukui’s fingers drifted across the back of his gloved hand, Spark yanked his arm away from the contact, blinking at the Alolan scholar in surprise.

“Spark?” Kukui’s voice was calm, with that patient, reassuring note of authority that he’d used so many times the night before. His brown eyes were soft and expectant as he waited, keeping his hand on the table with his palm upturned and his fingers spread invitingly.

Spark’s heart raced as he looked over at Willow, then down at the open hand, then up to Kukui’s face. His head was in a tailspin, because he didn’t know if the fact that he was sleeping with one of Willow’s colleagues was something that the Professor was going to be terribly happy about. But as Kukui held his gaze with that eternally patient and expectant expression, Spark gradually calmed, and the desire for Kukui’s approval surged forward to overtake his other emotions, just as it had the night before. He had to trust him. Regardless of what happened after this moment, Kukui was his Trainer…and Spark had to show that he believed Kukui was going to do what was best for him. To behave otherwise would be to disappoint him, and that would weaken their bond. Spark didn’t want that.

Cheeks flushing a little, Spark slowly extended his hand, resting it on Kukui’s open palm and swallowing hard as the dark-haired Alolan threaded their fingers together. “Sorry,” he said softly. “You just…surprised me.”

Willow watched the exchange in silence, pouring some cream into his mug of coffee and stirring it slowly, looking back to Kukui when the other scholar addressed him.

“Professor Willow, I brought Spark with me this morning because there’s something I’d like to propose to you, and since it concerns him in his role as Team Leader, I wanted him to be present.”

Willow paused in the middle of lifting the coffee mug to his lips, lowering it slightly as he quirked a brow. “Go on?”

“If you’re able to give him one month’s leave, I think it would be beneficial for him to come to my lab on Melemele Island to train with some of the Alolan forms of Pokémon directly.”

Spark’s pale brows shot upward in surprise at that. Looking to Professor Willow, he watched quietly as the older scholar took a slow sip from his mug, then set it down and leaned back in his chair.

“And is this a professional opinion, or a personal one?”

Kukui laughed softly at the pointed question, the ease in his demeanour never faltering. “Ah, well, that’s certainly a question I’d expect from a man whose success is intertwined with the performance of his Team Leaders,” he acknowledged, giving Professor Willow a calm smile. “And as I’ve just shown you,” he nodded towards the hand he’d intertwined with Spark’s, “my involvement with Spark isn’t something I’m trying to hide.”

“I appreciate that,” Willow grunted, although his tone of voice was decidedly cautious.

Spark’s grip on Kukui’s fingers tightened subconsciously as he watched the exchange, and worry began to etch itself into his expression as he looked from Kukui to Willow and back again.

“As Spark’s supervisor, you have a right to know about any situation that could potentially cause a conflict of interest, either now or in the future,” Kukui continued, lightly stroking the pad of his thumb over Spark’s knuckles. “And if at any time I feel that my relationship with him has the potential to compromise any of our ongoing work, I’ll step down as lead researcher on the Alolan side. Professor Samson Oak has an extensive network of contacts on the Islands, a number of whom would be ideally suited to take my place at the head of the project.”

The words hit Spark like a splash of ice cold water, and for a moment, he didn’t even know what to think. The realisation that Kukui was fully committed to his role as his Trainer was intensely humbling, and it made Spark feel incredibly selfish for ever putting the man in a position where he might have to choose between his research and their fledgling relationship.

“Thank you, Professor Kukui,” Willow responded gruffly. “Although I’m not without my reservations, I do appreciate that you’ve thought this through, and that you’re being so forthcoming.”

“It’s a matter of professional courtesy, so it’s really no trouble,” Kukui replied with a matter-of-fact shrug as he took a sip of his own coffee. “But to return to your earlier question, my proposal that Spark come to the Alolan Islands is based on both personal _and_ professional interest. Spark has considerable potential to develop further as a Trainer and a Team Leader, if you give him the opportunity to do so. I want to help him with that.”

“Yes, but what I’m trying to determine is why it’s Spark that’s receiving the invitation, as opposed to Blanche or Candela,” Willow replied bluntly, his expression clearly showing his suspicion in regards to Kukui’s motives. “Given the fact that you _are_ in a relationship with him, that will be the first thing people point to when they discover that he’s gone to Melemele Island for further training. I need to be able to tell my other Team Leaders that there’s a _real_ reason why Spark was chosen for the task.” 

Spark scowled faintly at Professor Willow’s words, his free hand clenching into a fist beneath the table. Every day, no matter how hard he worked, he was always faced with the fact that Blanche and Candela were doing more to help Willow’s research than he was. Having bigger teams with more Trainers meant that they were making more frequent contributions to the project, and if anybody was going to help the Professor make a meaningful breakthrough, odds were good that it was going to be one of them. So really, was it any wonder that Willow didn’t feel he was the best choice?

Seeing the impact of his colleague’s words on the young Trainer, Kukui stilled the motions of his thumb on the back of Spark’s knuckles, and he fixed Willow with a serious gaze. “After you and I had dinner last night, I _did_ meet with Candela and Blanche so that I could gauge how much they’d retained from my presentation.”

“And?”

“Their results were less than satisfactory,” he said flatly, his normally relaxed expression clearly showing his displeasure. “Spark was able to list more of the Alolan forms, their types, and their respective attacks than either of your other two Team Leaders, and he did it in a quarter of the time.”

Willow quirked a brow, seemingly surprised at the revelation. “I see.” He made a pensive noise as he sipped at his coffee, then lowered his mug again. “I’ll have to push them harder, then. Although I suspect that Blanche’s anxiety over pop tests may have interfered with their performance.”

The Professor’s words were like a slap in the face, and Spark’s fingers twitched against Kukui’s as the blonde looked down at the table, his frustration almost palpable. No matter how Kukui cut it, Willow still believed that Blanche was the better candidate, and damn it, it was hard not to feel hurt by that.

Kukui’s eyes darkened behind the clear lenses of his safety glasses, and he stepped in without missing a beat. “Professor Willow, I’d like to point out to you that saying that right after I’ve told you about Spark’s success diminishes what he’s achieved. And as his supervisor, you may want to consider the effect that that could have on his morale.”

Spark’s head jerked up at that, and he blinked at Kukui in stunned surprise. It was clear from Willow’s expression that he’d been taken off-guard by the rebuke, as well.

After a moment of consideration, the older scholar sighed softly and gave Kukui a short nod. “You’re right,” he grunted. Looking to Spark, the Professor offered up an apologetic smile. “Please forgive me, Spark. I was defending Blanche’s performance when I should’ve been acknowledging yours. It hadn’t occurred to me how that might make you feel.”

Warmth flooded Spark’s cheeks, and for a long moment, he struggled to find something to say in response. Praise from Professor Willow wasn’t always forthcoming where he was concerned, and getting it after Kukui had just defended him like that felt pretty amazing. Clearing his throat softly, he made a dismissive motion with his free hand. “It’s all right, Professor, really.”

“No, it’s not,” Professor Willow countered sharply, his expression serious. “You’re an excellent Team Leader, and hearing that you’ve impressed one of my colleagues to the point where he wants you to be the linchpin in our collaborative research…” Willow glanced pointedly at Kukui before returning his gaze to Spark, “I can’t say how proud of you that makes me. You have done an excellent job representing your Team and the Go League, and for that, you deserve my praise and my thanks.”

The happiness that came through in Spark’s smile at that moment was almost tangible, like the spreading warmth of the midday sun as it emerged from behind a cloud. It took a moment for Spark to find his voice, but when he did, it carried all of the affection and admiration he’d felt for the older man since the day he’d started working with him. “Thank you, Professor Willow. It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”

Willow gave his Team Leader a gruff nod, then turned back to look at Kukui. “So…you’ve identified Spark as the ideal candidate for further training, but I’m still not clear on why he needs a month off to come to the Alolan Islands.”

Strangely, despite the touching moment that Willow and Spark had just shared, the seriousness of Kukui’s expression hadn’t changed. In fact, it had only deepened. And when he spoke, there was a note of gravity to his voice that hadn’t been there before.

“I came to you with this proposal for a reason, Professor Willow. And you’re very fortunate that Spark possesses the talents that he does, because it means that there’s still hope for the Go League and the Trainers under your supervision.” Kukui pursed his lips for a moment, as though he were debating on how much he should reveal. After reaching a decision, he continued, his expression resolute. “With the influx of Alolan Pokémon into the Go League’s territory, it’s only a matter of time before you start seeing Z Moves. And that’s why I’m asking you to send Spark to Melemele now: you’re going to need at least one Team Leader who has the knowledge and the requisite training to handle these extremely powerful battle maneuvers.”

In the span of a heartbeat, Willow’s entire demeanour changed. His posture stiffened, and his soft brown eyes lost their usual cheerfulness. “We’ve known about the Alolan Z Moves for a while now,” he declared softly, concern clear in his expression. “What you’ve said suggests that something has changed. Why the sudden urgency?”

Sighing heavily, Kukui released Spark’s hand and reached into a concealed pocket on the inside of his labcoat, pulling out a small electronic document reader and handing it across the table to Professor Willow. “Because last night, the main lab on Melemele Island received intel that Team Rocket has formed an elite fighting division…and within the next year, they’re going to expand into your territory.”

Some of the colour drained from Willow’s face as he read through the text on the document reader, and his free hand clenched into a tight fist where it rested on the table. After a long silence, he turned off the reader and handed it back to Kukui. “You’re certain that these reports have been verified?”

“Yes,” Kukui replied solemnly, taking the reader and slipping it back into his pocket. “You’re running out of time, Willow. If Team Go Rocket masters the Z moves first, the consequences are going to be disastrous.”

“Give me 72 hours to secure Spark’s leave and debrief the rest of my team,” Willow declared firmly as he rose to his feet. “I’ll find a way to cover for him.”

Getting up as well, Kukui nodded, moving to push his chair back in. “Thank you, Professor Willow. I’ll take care of Spark’s travel arrangements as soon as my plane touches down this afternoon.”

“Good.” Willow’s expression was grave as he turned to Spark, reaching out and placing a gloved hand on the young Trainer’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze as he looked him in the eyes. “We’re counting on you, Spark…and not just Team Instinct, this time. Listen carefully to Professor Kukui, and devote yourself fully to learning everything that he has to teach you.”

“I will, Sir,” Spark replied, his expression resolute despite the maelstrom of thoughts and fears currently churning around inside of his head.

Searching the blonde’s eyes for a moment, Professor Willow finally nodded and released his shoulder, slipping his hands into the pockets of his lab coat as he turned to leave. “Learn quickly, and learn well, Spark,” he called back over his shoulder as he walked away. “The fate of our entire League may be depending on you.”

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
